The 2023-24 JTNC Players of the Year

Girls’ Player of the Year—Asterisk Talley

There’s been dominant players on the JTNC before

Then, along came Asterisk Talley to take it all to another level.

Talley, who’s still just a 15-year-old high school sophomore, won her third straight JTNC Girls’ Player of the Year title, tallying up an incredible 6,070 points during the season. The runner-up was Lily Peng with 3,508 points.

During what was a historic season, Talley won her 31^st JTNC event to become the all-time leader in JTNC victories. The previous record was 29 wins by Sabrina Iqbal. In 14 JTNC starts, she won 12 times, another record. There too was her record winning score at the Summer Series I at Reserve at Spanos Park, where she came in at 15-under after rounds of 64-65.

For Talley, it’s her third Player of the Year title in a row. Iqbal does still hold the record there, having won four in a row from 2014-17.

“Winning another Player of the Year title means a lot to me. It’s special,” Talley said. “I’m just working hard and always trying my best. At the same time, I always try to have fun. It’s just golf.”

Talley would also introduce herself not only to America but the world. She’d win the U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship playing with friend Sarah Lim and was co-low amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open. She also took second at the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship.

“The JTNC has helped me a lot. In the beginning, when I wasn’t good, there were a lot of players who were better than me, and I got used to playing against better players,” Talley said. “I learned from that, and it helped make my own game better.”

Boys’ Player of the Year—Ayden Fynaut

Fresno resident Ayden Fynaut was all too aware of some of the names that had won JTNC Boys’ Player of the Year honors.

The list includes two-time U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau and former world-ranked No.1 amateur Justin Suh, who now competes on the PGA Tour.

Now, the list includes Fynaut himself. Still just a junior at Endeavor High, Fynaut captured 2023-24 Boys’ Player of the Year honors thanks to a solid season that resulted in 2,208 points. Runner-up Trenton Stuart finished with 1,958 points.

“It feels so good to be player of the year. It’s cool having my name with those guys,” Fynaut said. “It’s good to know that my game matches up, and that I can also maybe some day make it onto the tour.”

Fynaut’s season was one most PGA Tour players would hope for. In 10 JTNC starts, he’d win twice and finish in the top 5 nine times. Other accomplishments were wins at the Junior Golf Association of Northern California Len Ross Invitational and San Joaquin Junior and a second-place finish at the NCGA Junior Championship.

“Overall, it was a good season for me,” Fynaut said. “I felt like my game stayed together just about every tournament that I played in. It was very consistent.”