David Noll Jr. of Dalton Receives GSGA's Tommy Barnes Award
Four other golfers earn GSGA Player of the Year Honors

David Noll Jr. of Dalton is the recipient of the Georgia State Golf Association's 2008 Tommy Barnes Award, signifying the Association's overall Player of the Year. He becomes the ninth different recipient of the award in its 11th year of existence. Noll was revealed as the winner during the GSGA's annual Player of the Year Awards Luncheon, held at Cherokee Town Club in Atlanta on January 24, 2009.

Noll earned the honor with strong performances in six competitions, five on the state level and one on the national stage, while also cruising to his fourth GSGA Men's Player of the Year title in 2008. At the Georgia Four-Ball Championship, Noll teamed up with frequent partner Doug Green to finish tied for fourth at The Brickyard at Riverside in Macon – their third top-four finish in the last four years. Noll came up just short of defending his title at the Georgia Mid-Amateur Championship at Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee. A tournament-low, second-round 64 vaulted him into the final group for the last round, but he finished as runner-up, four strokes back of champion Jeff Knox.

Noll once again put himself right in the mix for the final day of the Georgia Amateur Championship at Idle Hour Club, competing in the last group with two current University of Georgia teammates – Idle Hour member Russell Henley of Macon and defending champion Harris English of Thomasville. Noll matched Henley's 69 in the final round, but the hometown favorite held on for the title, edging English by a stroke and Noll by two shots.

In the Your Community Phone Book Georgia Open, Noll posted the second-best performance by an amateur, tying for 11th at 2-under-par 286 for the 72-hole event. His third-round 66 tied as the second-best score of the championship, matched or bettered by only three professionals.

Noll also earned Player of the Year points for his showing in the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Milwaukee (Wisc.) Country Club, where he qualified fifth in the stroke play round and advanced to the second round of match play, falling to fellow Georgian Josh Gregory, 2 and 1.

For the second time in four years, Noll captured the Atlanta Amateur Match Play Championship, outlasting, ironically, Gregory in an 18-hole final match, 2 up. It marked the fifth GSGA statewide title for Noll since 2003, joining a list that includes the 2003 Georgia Amateur, 2005 Atlanta Amateur Match Play, 2007 Mid-Amateur and 2007 Team Championship titles.

Though not point-earning events, Noll also helped Georgia to its fifth-straight Southeastern Challenge Match victory and led his Dalton Golf and Country Club team to a fifth-place showing at the Georgia Team Championship. He was one of just two players in the field to shoot under par in the individual stroke play round.

The award's namesake, Tommy Barnes of Atlanta, was one of Georgia's legendary amateur golfers. Among his many accomplishments, Barnes captured the 1941 Georgia Amateur Championship, won the 1947 and '49 Southern Amateur titles, qualified for 16 consecutive U.S. Amateur Championships and played in the 1950 Masters Tournament. In 1989, at age 73, Barnes shot 62 to break Bobby Jones' 67-year-old record at his home course, East Lake Golf Club. He also had a long history of service to GSGA and other golf associations, and was a member of numerous Halls of Fame. Barnes passed away in 2007 at age 91.

In honor of this special gentleman, GSGA established the Tommy Barnes Award in 1983-84 to recognize its Men's Player of the Year. Beginning in 1998, the Tommy Barnes Award was given to the annual overall player of the year.

In addition to the Noll's honors, four other golfers received GSGA Players of the Year awards during the Luncheon. Players of the Year are annually awarded in six categories: Men, Women, Junior, Girls', Senior Men and Senior Women.

Women's Player of the Year: Mariah Stackhouse, Riverdale
For the first time in a decade, there is a new GSGA Women's Player of the Year. Fourteen-year-old Mariah Stackhouse of Riverdale overtook the top spot from Laura Coble, winner of the award for 10 straight years. In doing so, Stackhouse also dominated the Girls' Player of the Year race, repeating an honor that she earned in 2007 and becoming the first golfer to win two GSGA Player of the Year categories in the same year.

In 2008, Stackhouse successfully defended two titles she won the previous season, the Georgia Women's Match Play Championship and the Georgia Girls' Championship. At the Women's Match Play, she faced Erin Packer in the final for the second-straight year, and won 3 and 2. She captured the Girls' title with a five-stroke victory at Marietta Country Club, posting the only sub-par round of the tournament on the final day.

Stackhouse took the opening-round lead and remained in contention throughout the Greater Atlanta Women's Amateur Championship, finishing runner-up to Alina Lee. She also posted a strong finish at the Georgia Top 60 Women's Classic, placing fourth, three strokes back of winner Leigh Crosby.

The dramatic highlight of Stackhouse's season came at the Georgia Women's Golf Association (GWGA) Amateur Championship, where she found herself tied with Coble after 54 holes of regulation after trailing by two shots with two holes to play. Stackhouse was vying to become the youngest champion in the 79-year history of the event, while Coble was looking to secure a record-tying sixth title. After parring both 17 and 18 to force extra holes, Stackhouse then won the three-hole aggregate playoff with three straight pars.

Stackhouse also earned points in the Girls' Player of the Year race for advancing to the third round of the U.S. Girls' Junior Championship at The Hartford (Conn.) Golf Club.

Junior Player of the Year: Chase Parker, Augusta
Chase Parker of Augusta earned GSGA Junior Player of the Year honors by winning the 43rd annual Georgia Junior Championship on his home course, Augusta Country Club. After finishing tied for sixth in the 2007 Championship, Parker overtook second-round leader and fellow Augusta Country Club member Lee Knox with a final-round 70 to win the 2008 title by two strokes at 5-under-par 209.

Though not a point-earning event, Parker also represented the state in the Georgia-South Carolina Junior Challenge Match for the second-straight year. Serving as captain, he compiled a 1-0-1 record to help the Georgia juniors post a dominating 11 ½ - 4 ½ victory over their South Carolina counterparts.

Currently a senior at Westside High School in Augusta, Parker signed a letter-of-intent in the fall of 2008 to play college golf at the University of Kentucky.

Senior Men's Player of the Year: Bill Ploeger, Columbus
The name Bill Ploeger is certainly a familiar one when it comes to senior golf in the state of Georgia. In 2008, Ploeger, of Columbus, earned his record-breaking fifth GSGA Senior Player of the Year award, and the first since 2002.

The bulk of Ploeger's points came courtesy of the Georgia Senior Championship title he won at The Landings Club in Savannah. In a closely-contested battle with the newly-eligible Donald Crump, Ploeger came from behind twice during the back nine and shot 2-under-par 70 in the final round to become the oldest champion in the history of the event at age 68.

On the national scene, Ploeger qualified for and appeared in the first round of match play at the USGA Senior Amateur Championship at Shady Oaks Country Club in Texas, an event he won in 1999. He also earned points for finishing second with frequent four-ball partner Spencer Sappington at the Georgia Senior Four-Ball Championship.

Ploeger represented the state in the biennial Southeastern Challenge Match for a record-tying sixth time. He won two matches in the final round to help Georgia secure 5 and 11 ½-point victories, respectively, over Alabama and Florida.

Senior Women's Player of the Year: Brenda Pictor, Marietta
Marietta's Brenda Pictor won the GSGA Senior Women's Player of the Year award outright in 2008 after sharing the title with Darlene Werhnyak a year ago. Pictor posted a number of strong performances over the course of the season to accumulate enough points for the title.

Pictor advanced to the quarterfinals of the Georgia Women's Match Play Championship at Sunset Hills Country Club in Carrollton, and also placed fifth at the Georgia Top 60 Women's Classic at Achasta Golf Club in Dahlonega. She led after the opening round and wound up tied for third at the GSGA Senior Women's Championship, an event she won in 2007. Pictor finished just one stroke out of a playoff for the title.

Pictor also competed in the Yamaha Georgia Women's Open, finishing among the top 20. In the GWGA Amateur Championship at Albany's Stonebridge Golf and Country Club, Pictor won the Championship B flight and, with a final-round 70, earned the Ceil Maclaurin Trophy for the lowest 18-hole score of the tournament.

Pictor also competed for the state in the 2008 Georgia-Florida Women's Team Matches and partnered with Ginette Spinucci to win the Georgia Women's Team Championship.