Alabama high school golf: 29 of the top Tuscaloosa area golfers to watch in 2024
High school golfers across Tuscaloosa will tee off for the 2024 season this week. Here are 29 of the top Tuscaloosa-area high school golfers to watch for this season:
More Tuscaloosa High School Sports: Several Tuscaloosa area schools claim state titles at 2024 AHSAA Indoor Track & Field Championships
More Golf: Nick Dunlap PGA Tour tracker: Dunlap finishes in last place at shortened AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
Girls
Anna Christian Beeker
Freshman, Tuscaloosa Academy
Beeker is the reigning AHSAA state champion and played at Ol' Colony Golf Complex in the 2023 Epson Tour, an LPGA developmental tour.
Saxon Skinner
Junior, Tuscaloosa Academy
Skinner finished third at the AHSAA state tournament last year and was a key contributor to the Knights' first-place finish.
Lucy Lunceford
Senior, Northside
Lunceford is committed to play collegiate golf at East Mississippi Community College.
Rilee Hilliker
Junior, Northridge
Hilliker enters her third season leading Northridge's varsity team after finishing last season second at 6A sectionals and 10th at the sub-state tournament. She recently recorded a top-5 finish at the Holiday Junior Classic with a low round of 78. Hilliker has also qualified for regionals in the Notah Begay III Junior National Championship to be held in May.
Ella Strickland
Sophomore, Northridge
In 2023, Strickland placed in several tournaments between the Alabama Junior Golf Organization (AJGO) Tour and the Birmingham Golf Association (BGA) Junior Tour, including third-place finishes at NorthRiver Yacht Club (BGA) and Musgrove Country Club (AJGO) as well as fifth-place finishes at Indian Hills Country Club (BGA) and Lagoon Park (AJGO). She was also the 2023 NorthRiver Yacht Club Girls Junior Club Champion. A member of Northridge's team since seventh grade, Strickland is a proven and experienced golfer.
Kloe Scott
Seventh Grade, Northridge
Scott impressed in the 2023 US Kids Huntsville Local Tour this summer, finishing second at the Cypress Lake Golf Tournament and the Tour Championship at Canebrake Golf Club and third place at the Cherokee Ridge Tournament. In the fall tour, she added first-place finishes at Blackberry Trail, Canebrake, and Limestone Springs and a second-place finish at Valley Hill. Scott qualified for the Southeastern Cup in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, after finishing in first place for the fall tour.
Victoria Allison, Lucy Lowe, and Sofi Gant
Fayette County
Allison, Lowe and Gant will lead Fayette County's first-ever girls' golf team. A trio of newcomers, they are all excited to begin a new era for the Tigers.
Boys
Elliott Overton
Senior, Winfield City
Overton was the Tuscaloosa News Male Golfer of the Year in 2022 as a sophomore and has qualified for every state championship tournament as an individual since 2020. He is also a four-time West Alabama Conference Tournament champion and five-time County champion. Overton has offers to play collegiate golf and will announce his commitment in the coming weeks.
Jace Duckworth
Senior, Northridge
Duckworth will play collegiate golf at Meridian Community College following his senior year at Northridge.
Graham Patton
Freshman, Northridge
Patton won the 2023 Tom Bell Memorial Classic at Limestone Springs as an eighth-grader, shooting under par at the event.
Taylor Chambers
Senior, Northridge
Chambers is a steady and consistent player who brings good experience to the reigning sectional champions. He and his teammates are seeking a state championship after a second-place finish last year.
Mason Jones
Senior, Northridge
At 6-foot-4, Jones is very strong off the tee and is looking to build off a strong finish to last season. He and Chambers both have offers to play collegiate golf.
Caleb Terrell
Junior, Northridge
Terrell is a hard-working player looking to build on a solid sophomore campaign and help return Northridge to the 6A state tournament.
Kam Colee
Freshman, Northside
Colee qualified for the sub-state tournament as an eighth grader in 2023.
Collyn Johnson
Sophomore, Tuscaloosa Christian
Johnson will lead the Warriors' varsity team in 2024.
Brooks Wyatt
Freshman, Tuscaloosa Christian
Wyatt is a young player with plenty of potential who will lead the Warriors' JV squad.
Clark Vandiver
Junior, Fayette County
Vandiver is a solid all-around player who helped lead Fayette County to a conference championship and fourth-place finish in the sub-state tournament last year.
Eli Canterbury
Senior, Fayette County
Canterbury is a short-game specialist who brings plenty of experience to the table. He has been crucial to the Tigers' three-year reign as Fayette Invitational champions.
Logan Taylor
Junior, Fayette County
Taylor was a key piece of the Tigers' conference championship last year and looks to build off of a strong season.
Luke Anderson
Junior, Fayette County
Anderson is strong off the tee and brings further experience to a deep Fayette County squad.
Bradford Pruett
Senior, Demopolis
Pruett is coming off an eighth-place finish at state in 2023 and will look to improve on that in his final season.
Hunter Powell
Eighth Grade, Demopolis
Powell is a younger player who has displayed plenty of potential, finishing 12th at state last year.
Brantley Rice
Sophomore, Demopolis
Rice is another of the Tigers' younger players who is looking to build off of a solid freshman campaign.
John Laney and Cameron Bell
Seniors, Demopolis
Laney and Bell round out an experienced Demopolis lineup that returns its entire 2023 team, which finished fourth overall at the state tournament.
Patton Shaw
Eighth Grade, Tuscaloosa County
Shaw has played golf for most of his life and has professional golf aspirations. He scored a career-best 72 last year as a seventh grader.
Eli Cowart
Senior, Tuscaloosa County
Cowart has a passion for the game of golf and loves the opportunity to compete with his friends. He will look to improve on his career-best 80 from 2023 in his final season of high school golf.
This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: 29 Tuscaloosa area high school golfers to know for 2024
