by They say golf is about finding greens and fairways.
Well, the two golfers listed below certainly did that – and more – during the 2024 Florida High School Athletic Association golf season. There were several big tournaments throughout the season that resulted in some incredible scores, which one would see in perhaps the biggest moments on the Sunday of a PGA Tour event.
Other highlights included Pace’s Adam Penrod earning low medalist honors at the District 1-3A boys tournament, Northview’s Anna Kunkel winning the District 1-1A girls tournament and Gabby Hultstrand winning the low medalist at the District 1-2A tournament.
There have also been several top placings at regional and state tournaments from area golfers.
As for team state tournament appearances, the Pace Boys team qualified for the 3A state tournament, taking 10th place overall; and the Pensacola Catholic boys earned an automatic bid to the 1a state tournament, where the Crusaders finished 15th.
Here are the individual winners for the 2024 golf season (Note: Full teams for all zones will be revealed on Sunday, December 1).
Male Golfer of the Year: Hudson Mitchell, Pensacola Catholic
Talk about a breathtaking senior season for Pensacola Catholic’s Hudson Mitchell. While he finished 29th at the Class 1A state tournament, with a two-day total of 151 (77, 74), it was a 2024 season to remember for Mitchell.
In the playoffs alone, Mitchell won the district tournament and finished second in the regional tournament. That wasn’t all. There were some impressive rounds during the regular season. That includes Mitchell shooting a five-under par 31 at The Club at Hidden Creek in late October, as well as a victory at the FCA Boys Golf Tournament with a five-under par 67 during the 18-hole tournament.
Mitchell finished with a team-low iWanamaker ranking (which is a measure of a golfer’s skill level based on team stroke play events) which was .546 for nine-hole rounds, with an average of 35.9. His 18-hole average was 72.3.
Female Golfer of the Year: Abby Vernier, West Florida
Abby Vernier has one more season to impress in West Florida, as well as the rest of the state, after posting a region-best third-place finish at the Class 2A state tournament at the end of the season .
Vernier posted an iWanamaker rating of 1.441 for nine-hole rounds out of 14 rounds, with an average of 36.2 (which places her 11th in the state of Florida for the Class of 2026). For the 18-hole rounds, Vernier had an iWanamaker ranking of 2.511 with an average score of 73.5.
Vernier, during the playoffs, finished tied for second in the district tournament, fourth at the regional tournament and then, as mentioned, tied for third at the state tournament. She’s also been impressive outside of the high school circuit, taking Northwest Florida (and the national stage) by storm.
Coach of the Year: Jason Young, Pensacola Catholic
Pensacola Catholic golf coach Jason Young led the Crusaders to their fourth straight district title, which meant earning an automatic berth in the regional tournament. Pensacola Catholic went on to finish second in the region to automatically qualify as the state team – the only regional team to do so.
The Crusaders finished 15th overall, led by Hudson Mitchell, Wilmer Mitchell (155), Wyatt Hart (166), Ian Morris (174) and Mac Gilmer (175).
Young brings back three of his top five golfers from the state tournament, providing a glimpse of what the next few years of Pensacola Catholic men’s golf could be like.
This article originally appeared in the Pensacola News Journal: NPC All-Area Golf Individual Award Winners: 2024 Season Highlights
