Liam Lodding of Huntley, Ill., and Andie Greenberg of Bethesda, Md., have been named the 2025 recipients of the USGA-AJGA Presidents’ Leadership Award, given annually by the United States Golf Association (USGA) and American Junior Golf Association (AJGA).
“One of the most important lessons we can give to emerging talent is to teach them to take an active role in leaving their communities and the game better than they found them,” said USGA President Fred Perpall. “There’s no greater leadership strength worth pursuing than to humbly support others so they can achieve greatness, too.”
Celebrating its 20th year, the USGA-AJGA Presidents' Leadership Award was created to recognize one male and one female junior golfer who demonstrate leadership, character and community service through their involvement with the Leadership Links program. The joint initiative was founded by the USGA and AJGA in 2005 to further develop junior golfers through volunteerism and philanthropy.
About Liam Lodding
For Liam, golf has been a lifelong passion, but a life-altering health challenge in 2023 redefined his purpose. Diagnosed with acute myocarditis during an AJGA tournament, Liam was airlifted to a hospital in Chicago, facing uncertainty about his future in golf and beyond. Rather than dwelling on his inability to play, he channeled his energy into giving back through the Leadership Links program, raising over $60,000 for the Nicklaus Children’s Healthcare Foundation and the Liberty National ACE Grant since 2023, with $38,000 in 2023 alone. Lodding's ambitious 2025 goal of raising $77,777 in 2025 alone continues, and his motivation to hit that goal is unwavering.
Liam’s fundraising efforts are deeply personal. Inspired by the support he received during his recovery, he created email campaigns and organized school raffles to spread awareness about these charities. His commitment to helping less fortunate children access healthcare and golf opportunities reflects his gratitude for his own second chance.
“It isn’t just about the number of dollars raised – it’s about lives changed, hope restored and the realization that true fulfillment comes from lifting others up,” said Lodding.
A junior at Harvest Christian Academy, Liam also volunteered as an assistant golf coach, attending every practice and match to support his teammates - and raised funds to install golf simulators at his school. At his church, he serves in the youth ministry, and at his golf club, he helps with youth camps, demonstrating a genuine heart for service. His coach, Jeff Boldog, notes, “Liam consistently volunteers because he genuinely has a heart to help.”
Looking ahead, Liam dreams of a professional golf career but is equally committed to using golf as a platform for impact, inspired by Jack Nicklaus’s advice that the sport is a vessel for greater good. With plans to start his own foundation someday, Liam’s journey embodies his motto: living with an attitude of gratitude and giving.
About Andie Greenberg
Andie’s love for golf is matched only by her passion for fostering inclusion and empathy, particularly for individuals with disabilities. A sophomore at Walt Whitman High School, Andie has blended her competitive golf career with impactful volunteerism through the Leadership Links program, raising $2,000 for Daniel’s Music Foundation, an organization that uses music to bring joy and inclusion to people with disabilities.
Andie’s commitment to inclusion began in fourth grade with The Nora Project, where she spent 100 hours fostering relationships with students with disabilities and created a documentary about her buddy. This experience shaped her lifelong mission, leading her to donate to Daniel’s Music Foundation since seventh grade and organize a Thanksgiving golf tournament to support its mission. She also collaborated with her choir teacher to perform an original song by Daniel at her eighth-grade winter concert, spreading his message of inclusion. As she reflects, “Seeing the impact of his lyrics on my peers reinforced the power of inclusion.”
At school, Andie is a dedicated member of the Best Buddies program, forming meaningful friendships with students with disabilities and organizing hangouts to ensure they feel valued. Her 60 hours of service with Best Buddies showcase her leadership by example. This summer, Andie volunteered as a walking scorer at the U.S. Adaptive Open, aligning her love for golf with her advocacy for accessibility. She rearranged her AJGA tournament schedule to prioritize this event, noting, “It perfectly brings together my two passions: golf and disability awareness.”
“Golf has been my escape from any hardship, and volunteering has opened my eyes to the power of inclusion,” Greenberg said. Her efforts, from attending Daniel’s Music Foundation events to promoting The Nora Project at nonprofit fairs, demonstrate a deep commitment to making golf and society more welcoming for all.
About Leadership Links
Since 2009, the Leadership Links program has helped more than 4,650 junior golfers make a difference in their communities by generating more than $7.2 million in charitable contributions to more than 2,000 charities and the Liberty National Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Grant.
Leadership Links is a program that allows the AJGA to further its mission to help develop young men and women by teaching charitable-giving skills and service-oriented practices at an early age. This program gives juniors all the tools necessary to donate their time, talent and resources to local charities and the Liberty National ACE Grant. Visit https://www.ajga.org/programs/leadership-links for more.