Cameron Wilson (2009)

At just 17 years old, Cameron Wilson became the youngest ever to win Player of the Year after an incredible 2009 season that came right down to the finish.

Wilson began his 2009 campaign with two strong performances in USGA events. He advanced through U.S. Open local qualifying and into Sectional Qualifying. Soon after, he qualified to play in the U.S. Junior Championship where he reached the quarterfinals and accumulated 100 points to put himself in the top 20 in the Player of the Year standings.

Faced with a nearly 400-point deficit in the Player of the Year points list, Wilson shifted his game into high gear in August. His first test was the Carter Cup at Baltusrol Golf Club. Wilson fired a second-round 66 on Baltusrol’s famed Lower Course to claim a two-stroke victory. The win earned him 75 points and an enormous amount of confidence heading into the Met Amateur Championship, which began the following day. Wilson marched all the way to the finals, where he became the youngest Met Amateur champion in the event’s 107-year history. The win earned him 275 points, and he jumped to second place on the points list behind Mike Ballo.

Later in the season, Wilson qualified for the U.S. Amateur Championship and won one match, moving up the leaderboard. By September, the Player of the Year chase became a two-man race between Wilson and Ballo. Wilson rose to the occasion with a victory at the Bergen County Amateur and shortly after, reached the quarterfinals of the Nassau Invitational and took his first lead in the points race all year, by 25 points.

The final event of the year, the Boff Invitational was a neck and neck race between Ballo and Wilson. Wilson was able to prevail, shooting a 71 to claim a one-stroke victory over Ballo. That one stroke proved to be the difference in his becoming the youngest-ever Player of the Year.

Wilson finished with 880 points.