The 2015-16 American Family Insurance ALL-USA Girls Golf Teams were selected based on performance and level of competition primarily at the high school level. Junior golf success was a secondary consideration, and those who did not compete regularly for their high school were not considered.
MORE:
ALL-USA Girls Golf: First Team
ALL-USA Girls Golf: Second Team
ALL-USA Coach of the Year: Mark Bender, Bellarmine Prep (Tacoma, Wash.)
RELATED: ALL-USA Boys Golf Teams
Alyaa Abdulghany is the 2015-2015 ALL-USA Golfer of the Year (Photo by Montana Pritchard/The PGA of America via Getty Images)
PLAYER OF THE YEAR:
Name: Alyaa Abdulghany
School: Corona del Mar (Newport Beach, Calif.)
Year: Junior
Abdulghany picked a great time to get hot. In seven postseason rounds last fall, Abdulghany broke 70 six times, and her worst outing was an even par round of 71. Her stroke average in that time was a shade over 69 and she capitalized on that hot streak by securing the California state championship.
The future USC Trojan made some history in the process. Abdulghany fired a 2-under-par 69 to win the state championship at Poppy Hills Golf Course, which set a new women’s course record at the famed Pebble Beach, Calif., course by three strokes.
“The thing I am proud of the most this year is my progression from freshman year and sophomore year,” Abdulghany told the Orange County Register. “I have gotten a lot better. My game has improved, and I am more consistent. Even if wouldn’t have won state, I would have still been happy.”
In addition to her state triumph, Abdulghany posted rounds of 68 and 69 to win the Pacific Coast League championship and another round of 69 to claim medalist honors at the Southern Section Southern Division team tournament to help Corona del Mar take second place.
In addition to her high school exploits, Abdulghany has been remarkably consistent at the junior golf level. She kicked off a sensational 2015-16 season with a run to the Round of 16 at last summer’s U.S. Junior Amateur and followed it up with five consecutive Top 10 finishes in junior events. Among those finishes was a win at the AJGA Junior at Carlton Oaks and a second-place finish at the prestigious Thunderbird International.
Abdulghany sits at No. 6 in the AJGA Polo Rankings and was scheduled to represent the U.S. at the Junior Golf World Cup in Japan in June along with ALL-USA teammates Kristen Gillman and Kaitlyn Papp. Abdulghany donned the Stars and Stripes once already last fall at the World Junior Girls’ Championship where she tied for 12th.