Maddy Bante

Future Famer 2023

After an individual runner-up finish in 2021, the St. Mary’s Academy sophomore won the 3A girls state high school individual title as she led the Wildcats to their second consecutive 3A team championship. But for her, golf is about more than scoring.

This fall, as a junior, she earned the national USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Leadership Award, a national honor founded by the USGA and AJGA in 2005 “to further develop junior golfers through volunteerism.”

A member of the National Charity League, where she helped on a Joy International project and volunteered countless hours at The Food Bank of the Rockies, Bante volunteers with the First Tee—Colorado Rocky Mountains. She also fundraises, last year generating $14,680, which she split between the First Tee—Colorado Rocky Mountains and the American Junior Golf Association’s ACE (Achieving Competitive Excellence) Grant. This money will help provide scholarships for teenagers to go to college, free tuition for children to attend First Tee programs and allow young adults the opportunity to play in AJGA tournaments.

Matt Schalk, 2022 Senior PGA Professional Champion (Photo by Justin Edmonds/PGA of America)Kyle Leydon with Shane Bertsch.