Whalen, Li headline WSGA Players of the Year for 2016

The Washington State Golf Association (WSGA) has announced the 2016 Player of the Year recipients. The category winners are as follows: Men’s, Andrew Whalen of Ephrata; Women’s, Marianne Li of Bellevue; Men’s Mid-Amateur, Reid Hatley of Hayden Lake, Idaho; Women’s Mid-Amateur, Shawn Farmer of Renton; Senior Men’s, Erik Hanson of Kirkland; Senior Women’s, Lisa Smego of Olympia; Junior Boys’, Joe Highsmith of Lakewood; and Junior Girls’, Brittany Kwon of Bremerton.

Here’s a look at this year’s winners.

• Andrew Whalen: Men’s Player of the Year
Now a redshirt senior at Northwestern University, Andrew had a solid 2016 season. He made it to the final match of the PNGA Men’s Amateur before finishing runner-up, and was also runner-up at the prestigious North & South Amateur. He finished second at the Northwest Open Invitational, playing against the region’s PGA club professionals; and finished fifth at the Rosauers Open Invitational

• Marianne Li, Women’s Player of the Year
In 2016, Marianne continued her strong play in the Pacific Northwest golf scene. She won the Washington State Women’s Amateur, and was a quarterfinalist in the PNGA Women’s Amateur. She also qualified for the U.S. Women’s Amateur. Now a sophomore at the University of California-Berkeley, Li qualified as an individual for the 2016 NCAA Women’s Championship, held at Eugene (Ore.) Country Club.

• Reid Hatley, Men’s Mid-Am Player of the Year
This is the second year in a row that Reid has earned this honor, having another solid year in 2016. He won the Washington State Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, having finished third last year and second the year before. He finished ninth at the Rosauers Open Invitational and made it to the Round of 32 in the PNGA Men’s Amateur. He was named to represent Team Washington in the 2016 USGA Men’s State Team Championship, where he finished tied for 12th individually.

• Shawn Farmer, Women’s Mid-Am Player
This is the first time Shawn has received this award. Her season included a runner-up finish at the PNGA Women’s Mid-Amateur, where she made it to the final match; and she also finished tied for second in the WSGA Women’s Mid-Amateur.

• Erik Hanson, Senior Men’s Player of the Year
Erik had another great year, culminating with his being named for this award. He finished tied for second in the Washington Open Invitational, finishing just one shot off the lead, playing against the region’s PGA club professionals. He was also a semifinalist in the PNGA Master-40 Amateur, a championship he has won three times previously (2015, 2010, 2007). Hanson finished third in the Washington State Men’s Mid-Amateur, and was named to Team Washington in the 2016 USGA Men’s State Team.

• Lisa Smego, Senior Women’s Player of the Year
This year saw a great comeback for Lisa. She started the season fast, winning the Washington State Senior Women’s Champion of Champions in April.

• Joe Highsmith, Junior Boys’ Player of the Year
The 2016 season saw a big leap forward for Joe. He finished third in the Washington State Amateur, after having the lead going into the final round and finishing just one shot out of a playoff in his bid to become the youngest player to win the championship.

• Brittany Kwon, Junior Girls’ Player of the Year
Brittany won several titles in 2016. In WJGA events, she won the Eastern Open, the Western Open, the District 3 Championship, and capped it off by winning the WJGA State Championship.