Maxwell Moldovan and Rose Zhang were announced Monday as the AJGA Rolex Junior Players of the Year.
Moldovan, an Ohio State commit from Uniontown, Ohio, and Zhang, a Stanford commit from Irvine, Calif., each finished No. 1 in the Rolex AJGA rankings on Oct. 15 and are among the 96 AJGA Rolex Junior All-Americans who will be recognized at the Rolex Junior All-America on Nov. 24 in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
Moldovan's year was highlighted by his victory at the Polo Golf Junior Classic in June. After winning the match-play invitational, he went on to go undefeated in the Wyndham Cup, running his summer match-play record to 9-0-1 in those two events. He added a runner-up finish at the Memorial Junior and posted six top-10 national finishes, including most recently a T-4 at the Junior Players.
He is an AJGA All-American for the first time this year.
“I had a really good year … definitely the best of my career so far,” said Moldovan, who will sign with the Buckeyes during the early signing period next month. “My goal was to finish in the top 15 in invitationals and try to win an AJGA tournament. I won in 2016 and 2017, but not last year. I can’t thank God, my family and friends enough for all they’ve done in my life. My faith has led to great things and winning this award is a true honor that reflects God’s glory.”
Zhang, 16, had an incredible year in which she didn't finish outside the top 3 in any AJGA event. She won the Swinging Skirts AJGA Invitational and was a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Girls' Junior. She also competed in the U.S. Women's Open and placed eighth in the Pan American Games in Peru.
Her All-American selection is the fourth of her career.
“The Rolex Junior Player of the Year award means the world to me,” Zhang said. “It is the highest achievement in junior golf, and I will feel extremely lucky to see my name next to some of the best in the game. I’ve played against amazing junior golfers from the United States and from around the world, and this award makes me extremely motivated to continue to play well and set goals.”
Here is a list of this year's All-Americans (number of years as All-American in parentheses):
Boys – First Team
Canon Claycomb of Bowling Green, Kentucky (4)
Connor Creasy of Abingdon, Virginia (2)
Jack Heath of Charlotte, North Carolina
Bo Jin of (China) Encinitas, California (2)
Maxwell Moldovan of Uniontown, Ohio - 2019 Boys Rolex Junior Player of the Year
Joseph Pagdin of (United Kingdom) Orlando, Florida
Bo Peng of (China) Lake Mary, Florida
Brett Roberts of Coral Springs, Florida
Vishnu Sadagopan of Pearland, Texas
Taehoon Song of (South Korea) Buena Park, California
Jackson Van Paris of Pinehurst, North Carolina (3)
Karl Vilips of (Australia) Wesley Chapel, Florida (4)
Girls – First Team
Ty Akabane of Danville, California (2)
Phoebe Brinker of Wilmington, Delaware (2)
Jensen Castle of West Columbia, South Carolina
Briana Chacon of Whittier, California (2)
Xin (Cindy) Kou of (China) La Habra, California (4)
Lucy Li of Redwood Shores, California (3)
Brianna Navarrosa of San Diego, California (3)
Alexa Pano of Lake Worth, Florida (3)
Amanda Sambach of Davidson, North Carolina
Yuka Saso of Manila, Philippines
Erica Shepherd of Greenwood, Indiana (5)
Rose Zhang of Irvine, California (4) - 2019 Girls Rolex Junior Player of the Year
Boys – Second Team
Aaron Du of (China) Sanford, Florida
J. Holland Humphries of Austin, Texas (2)
Piercen Hunt of (Canada) Hartland, Wisconsin
Benjamin James of Milford, Connecticut
Brian Ma of Milpitas, California
Andy Mao of Johns Creek, Georgia
Dylan Menante of Carlsbad, California (2)
William Moll of Houston, Texas (3)
Dawson Ovard of Frisco, Texas
Gordon Sargent of Birmingham, Alabama (2)
Ian Siebers of Bellevue, Washington (2)
Keaton Vo of Austin, Texas
Girls – Second Team
Zoe Antoinette Campos of Valencia, California (3)
Sadie Englemann of Austin, Texas (4)
Annabell Fuller of London, United Kingdom
Sophie Guo of (China) Orlando, Florida (3)
Rachel Heck of Memphis, Tennessee (5) - 2017 Girls Rolex Junior Player of the Year
Alyssa Montgomery of Knoxville, Tennessee (2)
Michaela Morard of Huntsville, Alabama (5)
Bohyun Park of (South Korea) Farmers Branch, Texas (2)
Catherine Park of Irvine, California
Megan Schofill of Monticello, Florida (2)
Christine Wang of Houston, Texas (2)
Kelly Xu of Claremont, California
Boys – Honorable Mention
Jake Beber-Frankel of Miami, Florida (2)
Trey Bosco of Austin, Texas (2)
Stephen Campbell Jr. of Richmond, Texas
Kelly Chinn of Great Falls, Virginia
You Seong Choi of (South Korea) Hacienda Heights, California
Tucker Clark of Phoenix, Arizona
George Duangmanee of Fairfax, Virginia (2)
Nicholas Dunlap of Greer, South Carolina
David Ford of Peachtree Corners, Georgia
Nathan Franks of Roebuck, South Carolina
Andrew Goodman of Norman, Oklahoma
Austin Greaser of Vandalia, Ohio (2)
Jonathan Griz of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
Leopoldo Herrera III of (Venezuela) Doral, Florida
Andrew Yong. H Jung of (South Korea) San Diego, California
Scotty Kennon of Bradenton, Florida
Caden McMackin of Laguna Beach, California
Yuki Moriyama of (Japan) Las Vegas, Nevada
Luke Potter of Encinitas, California (2)
Drew Salyers of Howard, Ohio
Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley, Massachusetts (2)
Tyler Wilkes of Tampa, Florida
Wells Williams of West Point, Mississippi
Alexander Yang of Carlsbad, California (2)
Girls – Honorable Mention
Amari Avery of Riverside, California (3)
Sophia Bae of Norwood, New Jersey
Hailey Borja of Lake Forest, California (2)
Jillian Bourdage of Tamarac, Florida
Camille Boyd of Yorba Linda, California
Jennifer Cleary of Wilmington, Delaware
Macy Fox of Austin, Texas (2)
Megha Ganne of Holmdel, New Jersey
Melanie Green of Medina, New York
Jiarui (Joyce) Jin of (China) Encinitas, California (2)
Hailey Jones of Dallas, Texas (4)
Rachel Kuehn of Asheville, North Carolina (3)
Mackenzie Lee of North Little Rock, Arkansas
Faith Low of Foster City, California
Kaleiya Romero of San Jose, California
Calynne Rosholt of Cedar Park, Texas (2)
Brooke Seay of Rancho Santa Fe, California (5)
Latanna Stone of Riverview, Florida (2)
Kailie Vongsaga of Diamond Bar, California (3)
Casey Weidenfeld of Pembroke Pines, Florida
Nicole Whiston of San Diego, California (3)
Ashley Yun of West Covina, California
Yunxuan Zhang of (China) Plano, Texas
Emily Zhu of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada