2021 Men’s Player of the Year

Yarik Merkulov

The Rochester District Golf Association began its Player of the Year Award in 1997 as an extension of the RDGA Match Play Championship – as a way of determining a seeding order, as well as a qualifying process, for the Championship.

A schedule of point values were determined for a number of competitive championships, whereby players would accumulate point totals for the entire season. Today, the RDGA Player of the Year Points Schedule consists of more than 20 events – from RDGA tournaments to State, local and USGA® Championships – at which RDGA players can earn points towards the Player of the Year Award.

Throughout it’s first 20 years, the Men’s RDGA Player of the Year was dominated by Stafford Country Club’s Jim Scorse. Scorse – one of the most consistent competitors in RDGA tournament history – earned RDGA Player of the Year honors 15 times between 1997 and 2018 – including eight years in a row between 2007 and 2014.

In 2021, however, it was Yarik Merkulov of Locust Hill Country Club who earned RDGA Men’s Player of the Year honors for the first time.

The point standings race for 2021 Men’s Player of the Year was one of the closest contests in RDGA history, with Merkulov earning top honors by only 5 points. Merkulov captured the points race on the strength of winning both the RDGA Men’s Match Play Championship and RDGA District Championship John H. Ryan Jr. Memorial titles, as well as qualifying for match play in both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Mid Amateur Championships.

Finishing runner-up to Merkulov this year was fellow Locust Hill member Kyle Downey. Downey had a strong season from start to finish, recording top-10 finishes in five major championships, including the RDGA District Championship, the New York State Men’s Amateur Championship, the RDGA Match Play Championship and the Brook-Lea and Country Club of Rochester Invitationals.

The race for the RDGA Men’s Player of the Year begins each May, with the opening of the RDGA Tournament Schedule. This year, following a year’s hiatus due to COVID, season-long point standings to determine the RDGA Men’s Player of the Year award were re-introduced. In addition to Player of the Year, the top-32 point winners for the 2021 season also earn invitations to the 2022 RDGA Men’s Match Play Championship and the top-40 point winners (and ties) earn exemptions into the 2022 RDGA District Championship John H. Ryan Jr. Memorial.

To see the final 2021 Men’s RDGA Player of the Year Points standings, CLICK HERE.