Heritage’s Patel, Riegger, and Coral Glades’ Gibbs are Broward Golfers of the Year
Coral Glades’ Bianca Gibbs and American Heritage’s Lilly Riegger each had to adjust to playing golf in South Florida this season after relocating from up north.
Meanwhile, Heritage’s Sohan Patel didn’t deal with such a challenge, but overcame all obstacles on his way to joining some of his school’s all-time greats.
Their stellar season earned them the distinction of being this year’s Miami Herald Broward County Golfers of the Year.
Patel, a sophomore, is the Boys’ winner after delivering one of the more impressive performances by a local golfer at state in recent memory.
He shot a two-day total 6-under par 134 to become the sixth golfer in school history to win an individual state championship and first since Luke Clanton won three in four years from 2018-2021. It was the ninth individual state title all-time for Heritage.
Patel consistently shot scores under 70 in the postseason, winning an individual district title after shooting 69 and a regional title, shooting 63.
He also reached the Round of 64 at the U.S. Amateur championship.
On the girls’ side, Riegger and Gibbs share the Girls’ Golfer of the Year honors after stellar junior seasons.
Riegger made an immediate impact on American Heritage’s girls’ squad after moving to South Florida from Chicago.
Riegger secured an individual district title, a regional runner-up finish and maintained a 75.5 average throughout the season. She finished 16th at the state Class 2A meet to help the Patriots finish third as a team - three strokes behind state champion Santa Rosa Beach South Walton.
“I’m happy to have had such an amazing team,” Riegger said. “We’re hoping to have a nice run again next season. You have to play a lot different weather permitting and the ball flies a lot more down here. I had the opportunity to balance golf and academics in a good way.”
Much like Riegger, Gibbs also had to adjust to playing in South Florida again after spending the past two years in New York while participating in The Knowledge Society, a global innovation program for high school students.
Gibbs said she initially didn’t have any expectations for how she would do her senior season. She ended up shooting the lowest score by any Broward girls golfer at state (148). Gibbs also was a district runner-up, finished sixth at regionals and shot a 66 to win the BCAA individual title.
With a year of experience, expect Gibbs to potentially improve even more heading into her senior season.
“When we moved back, my mom and I were like, ‘Let’s just do this and have fun, take the stress off and relax,’” Gibbs said. “A lot of the courses I had never played so next season, I’ll know exactly how to play them and have even better knowledge on how to approach them.”
