JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The competition wasn’t the reason Tyler Mawhinney kept coming back to high school golf.
Not even close.
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There were far more challenging options for the Fleming Island High School superstar if he wanted them. The thing that kept Mawhinney around high school golf was something that he just couldn’t get by traveling the country and teeing it up alongside the best junior golfers.
The friendships in high school were irreplaceable.
Mawhinney, now a three-time Varsity 4 All-News4JAX boys golfer of the year, made the most of his final season. He led Fleming Island to back-to-back team state championships and missed out on a threepeat this season by only a stroke. And Mawhinney came just one shot away from winning his second individual state championship. But it’s not the close calls in high school or the events he missed on the junior circuit that stand out the most.
More than two months since his high school playing career wrapped up, Mawhinney said the wins were nice, but the memories on and off the course with friends he met when he was in elementary school were unforgettable.
“I think a lot of it will just be kind of the stuff on the range and the putting contests and kind of all the messing around we did,” Mawhinney said of his favorite memories that began years ago around the course at Eagle Harbor and rolled on into high school. “And, over time we just got better. And [I enjoyed] more of that than necessarily the competition because you’ll never get those times back with your buddies.”
Mawhinney, who signed with Vanderbilt and is ranked No. 3 by the American Junior Golf Association, could have very easily called it a career after he won an individual state championship in his sophomore season.
“No doubt that his connection with his friends and their playing together lifted Fleming Island to another level. Had it not been for that connection, I don’t know that the other golfers around him would have risen to the highest level they could play,” said Fleming Island golf coach Bruce Cloud. “They were a tight knit group and worked together to make the rest of the team just as dedicated to the game.”
Mawhinney went 4-under 140 that sophomore year, notched his first hole-in-one during the state tournament, and led the Golden Eagles to a 23-stroke win for the first golf team state championship by a Clay County program.
But Mawhinney came back for more as a junior, shooting a 6-under 138 to lead the Golden Eagles to a 17-stroke win. The summer before his senior year, Mawhinney played in his first PGA Tour event, making the cut at the RBC Canadian Open and finishing with a 3-under 277 for T-65 with Adam Schenk, a 34-year-old with one Tour win and more than $13 million in career earnings. In that same tournament, five-time major champion Rory McIlroy missed the cut.
Why would Mawhinney devote as much time to high school golf when high stakes AJGA and PGA events were on the table?
Simple, he said — because you just don’t get that time back.
“We had two seniors leave this year to go to college and it got pretty quiet at the golf course pretty fast. So, kind of had to take this year with, kind of last dance and the last of it. And I think that’s when I realized, it’s coming to an end,” he said.
“It was bittersweet. I mean, I think that’s a good word for it. You know, we had a lot of success and that was the end of it. And we’ll never put on the uniforms again to play for Fleming Island, but I think we left a mark on the school.”
Varsity 4 All-News4JAX golfers of the year
2025: Tyler Mawhinney, Fleming Island
2024: Tyler Mawhinney, Fleming Island
2023: Tyler Mawhinney, Fleming Island
2022: Brock Blais, Ponte Vedra
2021: Carson Brewer, Ponte Vedra
2020: Andrew Riley, Creekside
2019: Jason Duff, Menendez
Varsity 4 All-News4JAX boys golf team
First team
Golfer, School, Class, Notable
Turner Hersey, Palatka, Sr.
T-4 in Class 2A state tournament at 1-over 145. Finished T-3 in region tournament with a 2-over 74. Carded 4-over 74 in district tournament,
Charlie Hipp, Creekside, Jr.
Went for T-11 in Class 3A state meet with 6-over 150. Finished T-7 at both district (even-par 72) and region (2-over 74). Committed to USF. Best round of the year came in winning the St. Johns County tournament at Slammer & Squire with a 9-under 63.
Tyler Mawhinney, Fleming Island, Sr.
Three-time All-News4JAX golfer of the year and one of the most accomplished in area history. District champ with a 4-under 70. Region champ with an 8-under 64. Finished T-2 in Class 2A state tournament (4-under 140) and missed winning second individual state title by a stroke. Helped Golden Eagles finish as team 2A state runner-up and missed state crown by a stroke.
Jonah Nacional, Beachside, Sr.
Finished T-4 in Class 3A state tournament (3-over 147). Shared co-medalist honors at region with even-par 72 to lead Barracudas to one-stroke team win there. T-3 at district (1-under 71). Three-time All-News4JAX honorable mention.
Jackson Runquist, Fletcher, Sr.
Class 3A state runner-up after -under 142. Shared co-medalist honors at region with even-par 72. T-3 at district (1-under 71) to lead Senators to team title. Helped lead Fletcher to Class 3A team state runner-up spot. Two-time All-News4JAX honorable mention.
Second team
Golfer, School, Class, Notable
Brady Dougan, Tocoi Creek, So.
T-14 in Class 3A state meet with 7-over 151. T-3 in district tournament with 1-under 71 and T-5 in region with 2-over 74.
Ryan Houck, Fleming Island, Sr.
T-4 in Class 2A state tournament at 1-over 145. Helped Golden Eagles finish as team 2A state runner-up and missed state crown by a stroke.
Dmytro Kulyk, Nease, Sr.
Finished third in Class 3A state tournament with 2-over 146. Finished T-7 at district with even-par 72 and T-11 at region (4-over 76).
Jaspreet Kondal, Beachside, Jr.
Went 7-over 151 to finish T-14 in Class 3A state meet and help Barracudas finish T-4 as a team. T-3 at region with 1-over 73 to help Barracudas claim team title there.
James Nagle, Ponte Vedra, Jr.
Finished T-7 in Class 3A state tournament (5-over 149). Had T-7 at district (even-par 72). Was T-17th at region with 5-over 77.
Honorable mention
Golfer, school, class
Carter Cannon, Suwannee, Sr.
Aubrey Fellows, Episcopal, Jr.
Cooper Franklin, Ponte Vedra, Sr.
Ethan Gossman, Providence, Jr.
Colson Hale, Fernandina Beach, Jr.
Jude Johnson, Ponte Vedra, So.
Ambrose Kinnare, Tocoi Creek, So.
Neal Kuthiala, Bolles, Sr.
Jake Mason, Ponte Vedra, Jr.
William McGready, Fleming Island, Jr.
Easton Oliva, Ponte Vedra, Sr.
Michael Rattigan, Wolfson, Jr.
Mason Seaton, Fletcher, Sr.
Cole Slater, Fletcher, Sr.
Alexander Stewart, Providence, Jr.
Brody Tran, Episcopal, Jr.
Will Wiggins, West Nassau, Jr.
Dawson Wooley, Suwannee, Jr.