Five golfers earn recognition for season-long results across the UGA Player Performance Rankings

Salt Lake City, UT — October 2026 — The Utah Golf Association has named Steph Belnap, Randy Hicken, David Liechty, Darrin Overson and Kate Walker as its 2026 Players of the Year, presented by PRIMO. Belnap, Overson and Walker are repeat honorees, with Belnap sharing the Senior Women’s award in 2025. The honors recognize each player’s results across the UGA Player Performance Rankings schedule available on UGA.org.

Women’s Player of the Year — Kate Walker
Walker won the UGA Women’s Spring Open and finished fifth at the Mary Lou Baker Open, where her result helped lift her to the top of the rankings. She finished with 145 points across her top four events, ahead of Ashley Lam’s 132 and Navy Hubbs’ 125.

Senior Women’s Player of the Year — Steph Belnap
Belnap finished runner-up at the Senior Women’s State Amateur and was the top senior at the Mary Lou Baker Open, earning 50 ranking points at each event. She finished with 165 points, 10 ahead of Molly Steffes.

Men’s Player of the Year — David Liechty
Liechty opened his season with a win at UGA Winterchamps, where he shot a course-record 61 at Copper Rock Golf Club. He also became the first player to win both the Valley View Amateur and Mountainland Valley View Open in the same year, finishing the latter at a record 15 under par.

Senior Player of the Year — Darrin Overson
Overson secured his second consecutive award with 300 points, finishing ahead of Shane McMillan’s 288.5. His season included a Senior Stroke Play title in a playoff and a Utah Four-Ball Championship senior division win with partner Shane Brady.

Super-Senior Men’s Player of the Year — Randy Hicken
Hicken earned his third award in four years after compiling 305 points. He won the Senior Stroke Play Championship by six shots, carding rounds of 73-72-73 without a double bogey.

The Player Performance Rankings track results in selected state and regional events, with points counting for 365 days from the date they are earned. The rankings help identify the UGA’s top players in each division and inform selections for UGA traveling teams.

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