Pine Crest’s Weinberg, American Heritage’s Schaefer are Broward Golfers of the Year
Pine Crest’s Alexander Weinberg and American Heritage’s Katherine Schaefer each fulfilled long term goals this season.
Each secured individual state golf championships after years of pursuit.
As such, Weinberg and Schaefer earned the Miami Herald’s Broward County Golfer of the Year honors.
This is the second consecutive season for Schaefer winning Girls’ Golfer of the Year honors and first for Weinberg.
“It was a really great experience winning a state title and obviously something I’ll look back on when I get older,” Weinberg said. “It’s exciting to have another year to try and defend it.”
Weinberg is only a junior, but has already committed to Duke University for golf thanks to his strong academic and athletic resumes.
With a 72.5 stroke average for the season, Weinberg capped it all with a stellar performance at the Class 1A meet in November. After shooting a 67 on the first day, Weinberg’s round of 76 was enough to hold off the field on day two and capture his first state crown.
Over the course of the season, Weinberg was no different in terms of putting together stellar efforts. He secured medalist honors at the Palm League Invitational where he also shot 67 and at the high school Honda National, shooting a 70. Weinberg also finished fourth at districts and placed in the top 10 at regionals.
“The hard work and discipline,” Weinberg said when asked what he credited for his success. “I’ve been fortunate to have great people around me to help me with my game.”
For Schaefer, this season was taking that last step to becoming a champion.
After finishing state runner-up in 2022, Schaefer shot two consistent rounds at this year’s Class 2A meet to finish with a combined score of 140 and win her first state title.
“It’s been a dream of mine ever since I first came to Heritage and one of the biggest accomplishments I’ve ever had and to do that in front of my family and friends it was amazing,” Schaefer said.
Unfortunately for the Patriots, Schaefer’s efforts weren’t enough to help them repeat as state champions as a team. Heritage finished three strokes behind state champion Beachside. But she helped the Patriots keep alive a streak of 13 seasons finishing as either state champions or runners-up.
“It’s definitely the team dynamic,” Schaefer said. “We never had any issues and the support we’ve had from parents and family is awesome.”
Schaefer, a senior who is a fan of pro golfer Nelly Korda, hasn’t signed with a college yet but has offers from a few colleges.
“My mentality on the golf course improved a lot,” Schaefer said. “I had to learn not to play against the people, but play the course. Being around people better than me has made me a better player and being around people who were always positive too.”
