2026 Players of the Year Awarded
St. Louis, MO - With the close of another Championship season, we are excited to identify the players of the year. Throughout the summer, golfers are eligible to earn points based on their performance in Metropolitan championships, USGA championships, and select other events. The players who collect the most points are crowned as the Player of the Year. This year we will award 4 Metropolitan Players of the Year: men’s, women’s, senior men, and super senior men. The Metropolitan Player of the Year awards are presented by Rapsodo Golf. We will also award the Southern Illinois men and senior men Players of the Year.
We are proud to award Ryan Sullivan, Gracie Piar, Skip Berkmeyer, Mike O’Neill, Bryan Warren, and Tom Portner with the 2026 Player of the Year awards.
The Metropolitan Player of the Year presented by Rapsodo is Ryan Sullivan of Tapawingo National Golf Club. From start to finish, Ryan continued to show immense talent with strong finishes across the board. Ryan’s best finish came at the Old Warson Cup after taking the final match to 19 holes where he would claim the Champion title. Less than a month later, he finished as runner-up in the Metropolitan Amateur after a grueling 54 holes. Earlier in the summer, Ryan finished 3rd in the East Side Amateur and was one of 3 amateurs to make the cut in the Metropolitan Open. He also earned points through a T5 finish in the Missouri Stroke Play Championship as well as making it into the Round of 64 at the Missouri Amateur. Capping off a successful summer, Ryan claimed the final qualifying spot to go to the U.S. Mid-Amateur from the St. Louis qualifier. He made the trip to Sand Valley where he competed in the U.S. Mid-Amateur. Though not a points earning event Ryan was a part of the winning Shogren Cup team where he won 2 of his 3 matches. In total, Ryan earned 2,052.5 points to claim the Player of the Year title for the second year in a row.
The Metropolitan Women’s Player of the Year presented by Rapsodo is Gracie Piar of the Metropolitan eClub. This Illinoisan made her performances count this summer to finish out her amateur career with a bang. Gracie competed in the Illinois Women’s State Amateur and walked away as the Champion. This win also gave her an exemption into the U.S. Women’s Amateur, where she competed at The Honors Course. Gracie’s success didn’t stop at the one title. She also took home the hardware as Champion in the Metropolitan Women’s Amateur. With 925 points, Gracie earned the Women’s Player of the Year title.
The Senior Player of the Year presented by Rapsodo is Skip Berkmeyer of The Legends Country Club. In just his third year in the senior division, Skip has shown he is the man to beat. He finished T26 in the Metropolitan Amateur and made it into the Round of 16 in the STLGDA Griesedieck. In the STLDGA Senior Amateur, Skip recorded a T2 finish. He also finished 3rd in the Metropolitan Senior Four-Ball. The highlight of his season, Skip earned his second Metropolitan Senior Amateur Champion title. Though neither earned points towards player of the year, Skip was a part of the winning Shogren Cup (Team Metropolitan) and Sobbe Cup (Team The Legends) teams to open and close his year out strong. Collecting 1,152.5 points, Skip has claimed his second Senior Player of the Year title to add to his collection of accolades including 14 men’s Player of the Year titles.
The Super Senior Player of the Year presented by Rapsodo is Mike O’Neill of the Metropolitan eClub. Mike stayed in the top 3 in his points earning events. The top moment from Mike’s summer came when he won the SIGA Super Senior Championship. He also finished as runner-up in the Missouri Super Senior Stroke Play. A 3rd place finish in the Super Senior East Side Amateur was followed by a T3 finish in the Super Senior City Championship. Earning 737.5 points this year, Mike claimed the first Super Senior Player of the Year award the Metropolitan has given.
These four golfers - Ryan, Gracie, Skip, & Mike - received a Rapsodo MLM2PRO Mobile Launch Monitor+Golf Simulator thanks to the Player of the Year presenting sponsor.
The Southern Illinois Player of the Year is Bryan Warren of McLeansboro Golf Club. Bryan had a successful summer with two wins. He began the summer with a win at the McLeansboro Amateur. Bryan later secured a second champion title in the Southern Illinois Amateur to prove the first was not a fluke. In the Fall Classic, he closed out the year with a 3rd place finish. Bryan ended T8 in the Green Hills Amateur and T38 in the SIGA Championship. Last year, Bryan was top 3 in the Southern Illinois Player of the Year standings, which earned him an exemption into the Illinois State Amateur. This was a tight race this year with just 12.5 points separating the top 2 golfers. 1,612.5 points later and Bryan claimed the right to etch his name on the Tom Portner Trophy. This is Bryan’s fourth Player of the Year title.
The Southern Illinois Senior Player of the Year is Tom Portner of Green Hills Golf Club and Apple Creek Golf Club. Tom continues his legacy in Southern Illinois once again, which was highlighted by a win in the last event of the season, The Fall Classic. He also had a runner-up finish in the SIGA Senior Championship and a T2 finish in the Senior Green Hills Amateur. In the Southern Illinois Senior Amateur, Tom finished in 4th. He also added a 7th place finish to his summer lineup in the Benton Senior Gold Cup. Through his prior success, Tom earned an exemption into the Illinois State Senior Amateur. Since entering the Senior Player of the Year race, Tom collected his highest points total yet at 1,637.5 points for his fourth title in a row.
At the end of each season, we also ask season participants to vote on the host club awards. We award four clubs in Best Private Facility, Best Public Facility, Best Professional/Staff, and Best Superintendent/Staff. All clubs in the running hosted a Metropolitan Championship or USGA Qualifier. Players were given until November 1 to cast their vote. Once voting was closed the following clubs were awarded:
Best Host Private Facility - Lake Forest Country Club
Best Host Public Facility - Spencer T. Olin Golf Club
Best Host Professional - Mary Campbell (Spencer T. Olin Golf Club)
Best Host Superintendent - Tom Bratten (Spencer T. Olin Golf Club)