AmateurGolf.com's Players of the Month: May 2022
03 Jun 2022
by Jim Young of AmateurGolf.com
SHARE:
While the month of May ushers in the warmer months and 36-hole days of summer, five players who heated up early caught our eye with their play during the month.
The college season wrapped up at Grayhawk Golf Clun in Scottsdale, Ariz., where two freshmen made history by winning individual titles. Staying on campus, we also recognize a deserving senior who has been at the forefront of the resurgence of the storied San Jose State women's program.
Senior amateur Robert Funk rode the momentum of his second win of the season at the Carlton Woods Invitational to medalist honors at the U.S. Senior Open qualifier at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M. and we ventured across the pond to recognize one of Europe's top amateurs who notched three top-10 finishes during the month, including a win at the Lytham Trophy, one of the top prizes in amateur golf.
AmateurGolf.com's Players of the Month for May, 2022
ROSE ZHANG
Zhang checked another box on her impressive amateur resume, winning the
NCAA Division I Women's Golf individual championship at Grayhawk Golf Club where she helped Stanford to win its second national title in seven seasons. It was her fourth individual title of the season. In so doing she became just the second player ever (Pat Hurst was the other) to win the U.S. Girls' Junior, U.S. Women's Amateur, and the NCAA individual championship. Zhang also finished second at the Stanford Regional. Zhang was also named the winner of the
ANNIKA Award recognizing the top player in women's golf.
GORDON SARGENT
After tying for fourth at the Palm Beach Gardens Regional, Sargent became just the ninth freshman to win the
NCAA individual championship by surviving a four-way playoff with Texas' Parker Coody, Oklahoma State's Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra and North Carolina's Ryan Burnett by rolling in a five-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole. He was also named the recipient of the 2022 NCAA Division I Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award presented by StrackaLine. He is the first Vanderbilt golfer to win the honor.
ROBERT FUNK
The Canyon Lake, Calif. native kicked off the month of May with a two-shot victory in the senior division of the
Carlton Woods Invitational, which was his second big win of the year, having captured the
Golfweek Senior Amateur in the California desert in April. Funk followed up with a top-20 finish (t-16) at the Trans-Miss Senior and then
qualified for his fourth U.S. Senior Open in the last six years by shooting a 3-under 69 at Las Campanas in Santa Fe, N.M., to share medalist honors.
JOHN GOUGH
The Englishman won the prestigious
Lytham Trophy by a single shot from Scotland’s Connor Graham after closing the 72-hole stroke play event with a round of 70 for a winning total of level par. He followed up with a tie for 10th
Brabazon Trophy at Saunton Golf Club and then wrapped up the month with a second-place finish at the
Scottish Men’s Open Amateur Championship held at Cruden Bay.
NATASHA ANDREA OON
The senior from Malaysia, who was at the forefront of the
resurgence of the San Jose State women's program, closed out her collegiate career with a win at the NCAA Ann Arbor Regional and then went on to secure a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club with a clutch birdie putt on her final hole of the fourth round to help the Spartans advance to match play. She very nearly completed the triple of a conference, regional, and NCAA championship that Rachel Heck achieved a year ago, only to be edged by Zhang in the NCAAs. She was also named the recipient of the Inkster Award, which recognizes the highest-ranked women's Division I (DI) collegiate golfer in her final year of eligibility for the 2021-22 college golf season
Related: