The Tom Portner Trophy
St. Louis, MO - Since 1989, Southern Illinois has been awarding the top golfer with the Player of the Year award. For years, this golfer has been presented with the Player of the Year trophy, which has simply been referred to as the Player of the Year trophy, until now…
We would like to formally introduce the Tom Portner Trophy for the Southern Illinois Player of the Year.
The naming of this trophy is to honor Tom Portner, a staple golfer in Southern Illinois for decades. Portner has lived in Southern Illinois and dedicatedly participated in golf championships in the area for quite some time. To this day, he remains committed to keeping the game alive in Southern Illinois as a player and leader. When a proposal was made earlier in the year to the Southern Illinois Golf Association Advisory Committee, the group unanimously agreed upon the renaming of this trophy in Tom’s honor.
Portner is a talented golfer in his own right and has won the Southern Illinois Player of the Year honor a record 7 times (1993, 1994, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2020) across four decades. No other player has won more than 3 times. Portner continues to play, though he has moved on to the Senior division. He has since claimed the last four Southern Illinois Senior Player of the Year titles starting in 2022. Portner is a three time SIGA Championship winner and 2024 SIGA Senior Championship winner. He has been a part of the winning Tony Stevens Cup team a few times and has won the Southern Illinois Amateur five times.
Portner didn’t start playing golf until late in his teenage years, but knew immediately that this would be the game that he would play for the rest of his life. He gained lifelong friends along the way and calls his golfing buddies his best friends. He has seen the ups and downs of golf in Southern Illinois, but remains committed to playing the game. He also remains steadfast in encouraging the growth of the game in the area through the encouragement he provides to other golfers to play and support for an inclusive golf environment. Portner has accepted each golfer he’s met as they are and hopes to see them continue on their golfing journey.
As the 2025 Senior Southern Illinois Player of the Year recipient, we surprised Tom Portner with the unveiling of this trophy at the Player of the Year Reception on November 12. Portner was overwhelmed with the honor. The 2025 Southern Illinois Player of the Year, River Stilley, was able to share a few words following the presentation of the trophy, expressing the impact and inspiration Portner has had on him. Portner was able to present and congratulate Stilley on a year well played. Once Portner was able, he said a few words, sharing his journey to get to this point. It was an emotionally joyous moment for Portner as he was surrounded in support by his friends and family. Portner was at a loss for words and truly honored to be recognized in this way.
This trophy now joins the other Southern Illinois Golf Association trophies that have been named: Pursie E. Pipes Trophy, William A. Mertz Trophy, B.W. Bruce Trophy, and Tony Stevens Cup. The Southern Illinois Player of the Year will now and forever be presented with the Tom Portner Trophy.