2004 GSGA Players of the Year Recognized
Senior Champ Sappington Named Tommy Barnes Award Winner

Spencer Sappington of Alpharetta was named the winner of the Georgia State Golf Association's 2004 Tommy Barnes Award, which signifies the GSGA's overall player of the year. Sappington, who won his second-straight Georgia Senior Championship and advanced to match play in the USGA Senior Amateur Championship this past year, was presented the award by the GSGA Championship Committee during the Association's annual awards luncheon, held at Cherokee Town Club.

Sappington, 61, led wire-to-wire and won by four strokes at the Georgia Senior Championship in September. He was able to carry that momentum into the USGA Senior Amateur Championship played at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, California in October. Sappington strung together rounds of 77 and 74 to advance to the match play portion of the championship. He dispatched his first competitor in 19 holes but fell in the Round of 32 to the eventual champion, Mark Bemowski of Mukwonago, Wisconsin, 3 and 1.

Representing Georgia in the Southeastern Challenge Match, played against teams from Florida and Alabama, Sappington propelled Georgia to its third-consecutive victory by winning both of his singles matches on day one and winning one of his four-ball matches and finishing the other all-square on day two.

Sappington's successful season also included a victory at the Georgia Team Championship as a member of the Lanier Golf Club squad as well as a runner-up finish at the Georgia Senior Four-Ball Championship, where he and partner Bill Ploeger fell to the eventual champions in a playoff.

In addition to the Tommy Barnes Award, Sappington was also presented with his second-straight GSGA Senior Player of the Year Award at the awards luncheon.
Other 2004 Players of the Year honored were University of Georgia golfer David Denham of Tifton and Vanderbilt University golfer Luke List of Ringgold (Co-Men's), Laura Coble of Augusta (Women's), Claudeen Lindberg of Atlanta (Senior Women's), Michael Green of Augusta and Brian Harman of Savannah (Co-Junior) and Jennifer Adyorough of Atlanta (Girls').

Four Players of the Year were repeat winners, as Coble picked up her seventh-straight Women's honor and Harman was named the Junior Player of the Year for the third consecutive time. Both Coble (2000) and Harman (2003) are former Tommy Barnes Award winners as well. Lindberg and Sappington swept the Senior honors for the second-straight year.

Men's Co-Player of the Year: David Denham, Tifton
David Denham of Tifton earned a share of the Men's Player of the Year honors by winning the Georgia Amateur Championship. Denham, a member of the University of Georgia golf team, shot even-par 280 at Athens Country Club to capture the title by one stroke. Denham shared medalist honros in U.S. Amateur qualifying, then advanced to the first round of match play at the Championship. He also placed fifth at the 2004 Dogwood Invitational. Denham earned All-Southeast Region and Scholar All-American honors as a junior at Georgia, and tied for fifth at the 2004 SEC Championships, helping the Bulldogs win their 25th conference team title.

Men's Co-Player of the Year: Luke List, Ringgold
Luke List of Ringgold was named co-Men's Player of the Year after an outstanding 2004 season, highlighted by a runner-up finish at the U.S. Amateur Championship at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaronek, N.Y. List led for the first 27 holes of the 36-hole final before eventually falling to top amateur Ryan Moore. He earns invitations to both the Masters Tournament and U.S. Open, where he'll make his second appearance after qualifying for the 2003 Open. List, who plays golf at Vanderbilt University and attended high school in Tennessee, was also named Tennesee's Amateur Athlete of the Year for 2004.

Women's Player of the Year: Laura Coble, Augusta
Laura Coble of Augusta once again ran away with the Women's Player of the Year Award, earning the honor for the seventh consecutive year and outdistancing the second-place finisher by nearly 600 points in the final standings. In 2004 Coble won her fourth-straight and fifth overall Georgia Women's Match Play Championship and captured her second Greater Atlanta Women's Amateur Championship. After finishing runner-up by a stroke at Top 60 Women's Classic, Coble won her first Georgia Women's Open and captured her second-straight and third-overall GWGA Amateur Championship. She also qualified and advanced to match play at U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship.

Junior Co-Player of the Year: Michael Green, Augusta
Michael Green of Augusta captured Junior Player of the Year honors by winning the Georgia Junior Championship by strokes on his home course, Augusta Country Club, where he is also the two-time club champion. Also in 2004, Green helped lead Georgia to a dominating victory in the Georgia-South Carolina Junior Challenge Match. A senior in high school, Green has inked a letter-of-intent to join the University of Georgia golf team.

Junior Co-Player of the Year: Brian Harman, Savannah
Brian Harman was named Junior Player of the Year for the third season in a row. Harman, who is also bound for the University of Georgia next fall, has been the nation's top-ranked junior golfer the last tw years. In 2004, he advanced to the quarterfinals of U.S. Junior Amateur Championship after earning medalist honors in the stroke play portion. He also advanced to match play at the U.S. Amateur Championship. Harman was also the medalist at the 2004 Class AAA high school state championship.

Girls' Player of the Year: Jennifer Adyorough, Atlanta
Jennifer Adyorough of Atlanta emerged as one of the top young female golfers in the state in 2004. Adyorough won the Georgia Girls' Championship by two strokes at Indian Hills Country Club. She also finished second overall at the Westfield Georgia PGA Junior Championship and captured the AJGA Nike Golf Junior at Jacksonville.

Senior Women's Player of the Year: Claudeen Lindberg, Atlanta
Although Claudeen Lindberg of Atlanta didn't win any titles in 2004, her solid, steady play in several events led to her second-straight Senior Women's Player of the Year award. Lindberg was a semifinalist at the Women's Match Play Championship, placed sixth at the Senior Women's Championship, tied for fourth at GWGA Amateur Championship and finished fourth at the Georgia Women's Team Championship with partner Charlotte Grant. She also qualified and advanced to match play at the USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship.