Samantha Cornelius

The Missouri Golf Association announced Samantha Cornelius of Hamilton, Missouri as this year’s Junior Girl’s Player of the Year.. Samantha is a junior at Penney High School and a member of the high school golf team. She was also the 2016 Junior Girl’s Player of the Year.

She was selected as a member of the MGA Southern States Junior Cup Match Team and was the champion of the Ken Lanning Turkey Creek Junior Tour twice.

“I started the 2017 golf season with three major goals: Repeat as MGA player of the year, win the Junior Match Play Championship and get invited back to the Southern States Cup,” Cornelius said. “Two out of the three isn’t so bad!”

Cornelius had many accomplishments at this summers’ Missouri Junior Tour. She earned second at the Tanglewood event, third at the Rolling Hills, Oak hills and Deer Chase events and fourth at the Lake Valley event. In addition, Samantha finished sixth at the MJGA Junior Amateur Championship at the Jefferson City Country Club. She tied as a medalist at the MJGA Junior Match Play Championship at the Eldon Country Club and made it to the
quarter final round.

This season, Samantha won every meet and tournament for her high school golf team. She was the District 6 champion and runner up in sectionals. She went on to place seventh in the state in Class 1.

“It’s an exciting honor to be MGA Junior Girl’s Player of the Year,” Cornelius said. “To me, this means I worked hard and never gave up on trying to be better. I love the competition the MGA brings. The special opportunities I have been given by the MGA are something I will always remember.”