JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (November 6, 2025) – The Missouri Golf Association is honored to announce its 2025 Players of the Year, recognizing talent across six divisions. These titles are awarded annually based on a points system, which tracks results from MGA and USGA championships throughout the season. This year’s honorees demonstrated exceptional sportsmanship and competitiveness at both the state and national levels.
Brad Nurski of St. Joseph earns the Men’s Player of the Year title after another standout season in elite amateur competition. Nurski qualified for the U.S. Four-Ball Championship, advanced to the semifinals of the 118th Missouri Amateur Championship at The Club at Old Hawthorne, and reached the Round of 32 at the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship. This marks the third time since 2019 that Nurski has claimed the MGA’s top men’s honor.
Lyla Louderbaugh of Buffalo, a junior on the University of Kansas women’s golf team, is the 2025 Women’s Player of the Year. Louderbaugh tied for third place at the Missouri Women’s Amateur Championship at Dalhousie Golf Club and went on to reach the semifinals of the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, one of the most highly-regarded events in women’s amateur golf. Her continued rise through both MGA and USGA competition earns her first solo Women’s Player of the Year recognition.
Brian Haskell of St. Joseph is the Men’s Senior Player of the Year after producing one of the most impressive senior seasons in recent MGA history. Haskell tied for seventh in the Missouri Senior Four-Ball Championship, tied for third in the Payne Stewart Invitational, finished runner-up in the Tom Hoover Ozark Invitational, and captured three major titles: the Phil Cotton Invitational (senior division), the Missouri Senior Match Play Championship, and the Missouri Senior Amateur Championship.
Ellen Port of St. Louis, one of the most decorated female amateur golfers in the country, is the Women’s Senior Player of the Year. Port placed 14th in the Missouri Women’s Amateur, qualified for the U.S. Women’s Senior Open, and advanced to the Round of 32 in the U.S. Women’s Senior Amateur Championship. This is her fifth time earning the award since 2019, extending her long-running success at the senior level.
Anson Munzlinger of Columbia (Class of 2028) is this year’s Junior Boys Player of the Year after a breakout season against both junior and amateur competition. Munzlinger won the Missouri Junior Match Play Championship at Sedalia Country Club, qualifying him for the U.S. Junior Amateur, and went on to reach the semifinals of the 118th Missouri Amateur Championship at his home course, The Club at Old Hawthorne. He also reached a tie for first at the Missouri Junior Amateur Championship, narrowly missing the title in a playoff.
Anna Bell of Poplar Bluff (Class of 2029) is the Junior Girls Player of the Year after a season highlighted by a victory at the Missouri Junior Match Play Championship, which earned her an exemption into the U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur. Bell also finished as runner-up in the Missouri Women’s Amateur Championship as the youngest player in the field, and advanced to match play at the U.S. Women’s Four-Ball Championship.
Each honoree’s performance throughout the 2025 season reflects the continued depth of talent in Missouri golf. The MGA congratulates these players on their achievements and looks forward to following their success in the years ahead.
For more information, visit www.mogolf.org or contact the MGA office at 573-636-8994.
###
ABOUT MGA: The Missouri Golf Association is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote the best interests and true spirit of the game of golf throughout the State of Missouri.
The Missouri Golf Association was started in St. Louis in 1905 to run the Amateur Championship. Four founding clubs would be the ones in existence in St. Louis in those early years – St. Louis Country Club, Algonquin Golf Club, Glen Echo Golf Club and Normandie Golf Club. Four years later, the invite-only Missouri Amateur was held in Kansas City at Evanston Club. 1911 marked the real organization of the MGA with Bonner Miller as Secretary and Executive Director. Ever since then, the MGA has striven to provide tournaments and spaces for Missouri golfers to sharpen their skills and enjoy the game.
Media Contact:
Ella Fixsen
Director of Marketing, Media & Communications
efixsen@mogolf.org