This press release was originally authored by Emily Kmiec of the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA). The full release can be viewed here.
Lutherville, Md. – Andie Greenberg of Bethesda, Maryland, and Liam Lodding of Huntley, Illinois, have been named the 2025 recipients of the USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Leadership Award, the United States Golf Association (USGA) and American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) announced.
“One of the most important lessons we can give to emerging talent is to teach them to take an active role in leaving their communities and the game better than they found them,” said Fred Perpall, President of the USGA. “There’s no greater leadership strength worth pursuing than to humbly support others so they can achieve greatness, too.”
Celebrating its 20th year, the USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Leadership Award was created to recognize one male and one female junior golfer who demonstrate leadership, character, and community service through their involvement with the Leadership Links program. The joint initiative was founded by the USGA and AJGA in 2005 to further develop junior golfers through volunteerism and philanthropy.
About Andie Greenberg
Andie’s love for golf is matched only by her passion for fostering inclusion and empathy, particularly for individuals with disabilities. A sophomore at Walt Whitman High School, Andie has blended her competitive golf career with impactful volunteerism through the Leadership Links program, raising $2,000 for Daniel’s Music Foundation, an organization that uses music to bring joy and inclusion to people with disabilities.
Andie’s commitment to inclusion began in fourth grade with The Nora Project, where she spent 100 hours fostering relationships with students with disabilities and created a documentary about her buddy. This experience shaped her lifelong mission, leading her to donate to Daniel’s Music Foundation since seventh grade and organize a Thanksgiving golf tournament to support its mission. She also collaborated with her choir teacher to perform an original song by Daniel at her eighth-grade winter concert, spreading his message of inclusion. As she reflects, “Seeing the impact of his lyrics on my peers reinforced the power of inclusion.”
At school, Andie is a dedicated member of the Best Buddies program, forming meaningful friendships with students with disabilities and organizing hangouts to ensure they feel valued. Her 60 hours of service with Best Buddies showcase her leadership by example. This summer, Andie volunteered as a walking scorer at the U.S. Adaptive Open, aligning her love for golf with her advocacy for accessibility. She rearranged her AJGA tournament schedule to prioritize this event, noting, “It perfectly brings together my two passions: golf and disability awareness.”
“Golf has been my escape from any hardship, and volunteering has opened my eyes to the power of inclusion,” Greenberg said. Her efforts, from attending Daniel’s Music Foundation events to promoting The Nora Project at nonprofit fairs, demonstrate a deep commitment to making golf and society more welcoming for all.
USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Leadership Award – Past Recipients
2024
Mack Edwards (Charlotte, NC)
Sahana Mantha (Charlotte, NC)
2023
Zachary Munno (Stamford, Conn.)
Lucy Wang (Concord, Mass.)
2022
Matthew Lin (Orinda, Calif.)
Madeline Bante (Englewood, Colo.)
2021
Tommy Frist (Nashville, Tenn.)
Andie Smith (Hobe Sound, Fla.)
2020
Ashley Yen (Houston, Texas)
Charlie Creamean (Winnetka, Ill.)
2019
William Mirams (Stroudsburg, Pa.)
Lauryn Nguyen (Seattle, Wash.)
2018
Gerry Jones Jr. (Suffolk, Va.)
Grace Chen (Sunnyvale, Calif.)
2017
Grant Fairbairn (Orinda, Fla.)
Haley Bookholdt (Columbus, N.J.)
2016
Daniel Berlin (Chagrin Falls, Ohio)
Angelica Harris (Harvey, La.)
2015
Nick Leibold (Littleton, Colo.)
Hannah Berman (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.)
2014
John Hayden (Birmingham, Ala.)
Dree Fausnaugh (Maitland, Fla.)
2013
Patrick Cover (Huntersville, N.C.)
Divya Manthena (Camarillo, Calif.)
2012
Brandon Pierce (Covington, La.)
Cassie Wang (Lenexa, Kan.)
2011
John Farese (Sayville, N.Y.)
Natalie Turk (Franklin, Tenn.)
2010
Drew Johnson (Oak Ridge, N.C.)
Jacqueline Calamaro (Newtown Square, Pa.)
2009
Zach Herr (New Hope, Pa.)
Emily Gimpel (Lafayette Hill, Pa.)
2008
Smylie Kaufman (Birmingham, Ala.)
Kelsey Conway (Ventura, Calif.)
About Leadership Links
Since 2009, the Leadership Links program has helped more than 4,650 junior golfers make a difference in their communities by generating more than $7.2 million in charitable contributions to more than 2,000 charities and the Liberty National Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant.
Leadership Links is a program that allows the AJGA to further its mission to help develop young men and women by teaching charitable-giving skills and service-oriented practices at an early age. This program gives juniors all the tools necessary to donate their time, talent and resources to local charities and the Liberty National ACE Grant. Visit https://www.ajga.org/programs/leadership-links for more.
About the AJGA
The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf. The AJGA provides valuable exposure for college golf scholarships, and has an annual junior membership (boys and girls, ages 12-19) of more than 9,000 members from 50 states and 51 foreign countries. Through initiatives like the Liberty National ACE Grant, a financial assistance program, and Leadership Links, a service-oriented platform that teaches juniors charitable-giving skills, the AJGA fosters the growth of golf’s next generation.
TaylorMade and adidas are the AJGA’s National Sponsors, supporting the AJGA for more than 25 years. TaylorMade has served as the Official Ball of the AJGA since 2016. adidas has been the Official Apparel and Footwear of the AJGA since 2017. Rolex, in its fourth decade of AJGA sponsorship, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. Former AJGA juniors have compiled more than 1,000 victories on the PGA and LPGA Tours. AJGA alumni include Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, Collin Morikawa, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Tiger Woods, Paula Creamer, Jessica Korda, Nelly Korda, Cristie Kerr, Stacy Lewis, Inbee Park, Lexi Thompson and Rose Zhang.
About the USGA
The USGA is a mission-based golf organization whose purpose is to unify the golf community through handicapping and grassroots programs; to showcase the game’s best talent through the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open Presented by Ally and 13 other national championships and our museum; to provide unbiased global governance with The R&A through the playing, equipment and Amateur Status rules; and to advance issues important to golf’s future, with a focus on driving sustainability, accessibility and inclusion. The USGA also manages day-to-day operations for the U.S. National Development Program, the country’s first unified pathway for American talent, and the World Golf Hall of Fame, preserving and celebrating the legacies of the game’s greatest figures. As a nonprofit association, our work and our team are driven to act for the good of the game. For more, visit usga.org.
MSGA Mission
To serve, grow, and advance the game of golf in Maryland and the District of Columbia.
