Two golfers from the River Valley & Ozark Edition coverage area were among those honored as Arkansas State Golf Association Players of the Year on Nov. 1 at the organization’s annual Hall of Fame banquet at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock.
Julie Oxendine of Russellville won the women’s award, and Trey Schaap of Maumelle won the mid-senior men’s division.
“It’s always an honor to be Player of the Year, and I’m just excited that I’ve been given the ability and the opportunity to play such a great game,” said Oxendine, who was inducted into the Arkansas Golf Hall of Fame in 2016. “I’m really excited about the upcoming season and look forward to what is in store for women’s golf.”
In 2018, Oxendine won the ASGA/Arkansas Women’s Golf Association Northwest Arkansas Championship and women’s designated event and tied for third in the ASGA/AWGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship to earn 317.5 points, ahead of runner-up Nora Phillips of Hot Springs, 270.
Oxendine won women’s Player of the Year honors in 2012, ’13 and ’14. She finished second in 2015, fifth in ’15 and fourth in ’17.
Schaap, 42, settled the mid-senior race by winning the ASGA Match Play Championship in August — his eighth win of the season. He finished with 1,135 points, well ahead of runner-up Bill Burkhalter of Maumelle, who earned 810.
“Just winning that tournament was big, but also winning Player of the Year — I knew if I didn’t win [the Match Play], I’d have to go to Mountain Home and play another tournament, and I didn’t really want to play another one,” Schaap said. “So when I won, I felt a little bit of relief.”
He had finished runner-up in the amateur division in 2010 and ’16.
“I thought, ‘I’m old enough; I might as well move up [to mid-senior play] and try to win it,’” Schaap said. “Last year, I didn’t get to play in the Stroke because it conflicted with SEC [Football] Media Days.”
Schaap won eight of the 10 tournaments he played: the Fianna Hills Stroke Play; the Hot Springs Country Club Stroke Play; Eagle Hill Stroke Play; the Course at Eagle Mountain Stroke Play; the Pine Bluff Country Club Stroke Play; the Sherwood Amateur; the Maumelle Classic; and ASGA Match Play. He finished third in the Harbor Oaks Stroke Play and fourth in the Arkansas Amateur Championship.
“I concentrated on the tournaments that had the most points,” he said. “I played well at the [Amateur]. I had a two-shot lead going into the last nine holes; I just couldn’t finish it. One stroke here or there, and I would’ve won.”
He was joined at the banquet by his wife, daughter, parents, in-laws and several friends, including University of Arkansas at Little Rock women’s basketball coach and Arkansas Sports Hall of Famer Joe Foley. Schaap is the play-by-play radio voice of the Trojans.
“Coach Foley caddies for me at the U.S. Open qualifying,” Schaap said. “We haven’t done very well, and he always tells me, ‘Hey, I’ve gotten us to the NCAA Tournament; you need to get us to the U.S. Open.’
“But I’m getting a little too old for that. I can’t play against these college kids anymore.”
Now that he’s reached his goal of garnering a Player of the Year honor, Schaap said he would re-evaluate his schedule for 2019. He said he’s played seriously since about 2009.
“We’ll see what else happens,” he said. “It was a goal, yeah, but now that I won one, do I want to win more? Sure, but I’m not going to play every week just to do that.”
Other amateur Players of the Year honored were Pat Elliott of Hot Springs, senior women; Rhonda Haynes of Hot Springs Village, women’s masters; Mackenzie Lee of North Little Rock, junior girls; Connor Gaunt of Cabot, junior boys; Charlie Angel of Hot Springs, men’s masters; Bill Wrentz of Cabot, super-senior men; Tracy Harris of Little Rock, senior men; and Miles Smith of Little Rock, men’s amateur.
Joining the Arkansas Golf Hall of Fame during the festivities were Dawn Darter of Sherwood, Chris Jenkins of Little Rock and Brent Winston of Sheridan.