UVA men’s golf coach Bowen Sargent has signed a three-man recruiting class of top junior golfers who will join the Cavalier program next fall.
The class includes George Duangmanee of Fairfax, Va., Jaron Leasure from Nashville, Tenn., and Grayson Wotnosky from Wake Forest, N.C.
“Collectively, this group might be the strongest class we’ve signed in a while, if not the strongest since I’ve been in Charlottesville,” said Sargent, who is in his 15th season at UVA. “All three are recognized nationally in several different polls including Golfweek where all three are regarded as top 40 prospects in their class. As such, each is capable of stepping in next fall and contributing immediately to our team’s success. I couldn’t be happier for this day and I can’t wait to start working with the 2020 class next August.”
Duangmanee is ranked the No. 11 golfer for the Class of 2020 by Golfweek and figures No. 17 in the Junior Golf Scoreboard standings. Leasure is No. 36 in both polls while Wotnosky is rated No. 38 in Golfweek and No. 91 by Junior Golf Scoreboard.
Duangmanee is a two-time Rolex Junior All-American and ranked No. 26 in the Rolex American Junior Golf Association standings. This past year, he tied for fifth in stroke play at the U.S. Junior Amateur, was the runner-up at the Hunter Mahan Junior Championship, was fourth at the Bobby Chapman Junior, tied for ninth at the Wyndham Invitational and tied for 10th at the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley.
In 2018, he won the Hunter Mahan tournament, was fourth at the IMG Academy Junior World Championship, placed eighth at the Wyndham, was third at the Rome Junior Classic and fourth at the AJGA Junior at Lost Spring.
He took home first-place honors at the Boys 12-13 Division at the National Finals for the Drive, Chip & Putt competition in 2015 and U.S. Teen World in 2017 at age of 15.
Leasure won his second consecutive Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association individual title while competing at Montgomery Bell Academy in October by shooting 12-under 132. That championship included a state tournament single-round record of 10-under 62. Last summer he won the Tennessee Junior Amateur Championship.
Leasure was the runner-up at the 2019 Scott Stallings Junior and tied for third at the Rome Junior Classic and Bubba Conlee National during the same year of AJGA competition.
In 2018, he picked up a pair of wins on the Sneds (Bryant Snedeker Foundation) Tour and was named the Tennessee Junior Golfer of the Year.
Leasure won the 2017 Virginia 5A High School State Championship for Kempsville High School while his family lived in Virginia Beach. He finished 10th in the Boys 14-15 Division of the 2017 National Chip & Putt Championship at Augusta National.
Wotnosky had three top-10 finishes during AJGA play in 2019. He tied for fifth at the Foley Performance Academy Junior and was 10th at both the Memorial Junior and the AJGA Pinehurst Junior. He also had three top-10 outings during 2018 AJGA events highlighted by a seventh-place finish at the AJGA Colonial Junior.
In 2017, as a 16-year-old, he won the Donald Ross Junior at Pinehurst No. 2, shooting 4-under 68 during the final round. Earlier that year he teamed up with fellow North Carolina junior Akshay Bhatia, to qualify for the U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship. They became the youngest team to make it to match play in the championship.
Wotnosky’s sister, Haeley, is a sophomore on the UVA women’s golf team.
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