Noll keeps raking in accolades, named Player of Year once again

Published 9:06 pm Saturday, December 17, 2005

David Noll Jr. won the Georgia State Atlanta Amateur Match Play championship, finished second in the Georgia State Four-Ball Championship, second in the Georgia Amateur, 14th in the Georgia Mid-Amateur and lost in the round of 32 in the U.S. Mid-Amateur.

In the end, Noll wound up No. 1 in Georgia.

Noll, 33, is the 2005 Georgia Player of the Year.

“I’m thrilled beyond belief,” said Noll, who won the same honor in 2003. “The second (award) doesn’t feel any different than the first, but it validates the first one.”

Noll says the hard work ethic instilled in him by his late father has once again paid off. For instance, Noll says that he’s missed just two practice days this year as he strives to reach his ultimate golfing potential.

Cold weather is no problem. Rain doesn’t slow him. I’m not sure sleet or snow would. He was at Dalton Golf and Country Club all week working on his game when most folks were staying inside to keep warm.

“I don’t think anyone could say that I haven’t put the time and effort into my game to achieve something like this,” Noll said.

Not a chance.

To win player of the year honors, Noll amassed 675 points, 250 coming from his finishing second to Brian Harman in the state amateur tournament. Harman, who is from Savannah and currently a freshman at Georgia, got 350 for that victory and 250 more for his showing in the U.S. Amateur and that kept the points battle close.

Harman had to birdie three of his final eight holes for a 3-under 68 to hold Noll at bay in the final round of the state amateur. Noll shot a final round 69.

Noll will be honored at a GSGA luncheon on Jan. 21 in Atlanta. He will also be a guest at the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame induction ceremony, as are all players of the year, on Jan. 7.

But what’s left for Noll? A lot, he said.

His primary goal is to win a United States Golf Association national title such as the U.S. Amateur or the U.S. Mid-Amateur.

“Those are the ones I can legitimately shoot for,” Noll said, “because thinking about winning the U.S. Open is farfetched.”

Noll’s 2006 schedule is practically set and he’s gearing up for hard runs at the national amateur and mid-amateur titles. The amateur tournament will be held at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., and the mid-amateur is set for Forest Highlands Golf Club in Flagstaff, Ariz.

Winning either one would further enhance Noll’s resume. So would a few more state titles.

The most significant thing in Noll’s life right now is not related to golf. Noll and his wife, Leigh Ann, are expecting their first child. It’s a boy — David Noll III — and due in March.

The couple found out about Leigh Ann’s pregnancy in late summer.

“She went with me to the state amateur tournament and was continuously sick,” Noll recalled. “We thought she had a bug. We found out two weeks later.”

The good news just keeps pouring in for Noll.