UVA signs Duangmanee, O’Hara to recruiting class of 2023

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia men’s golf coach Bowen Sargent announced Wednesday the signing of a two-man recruiting class that includes Josh Duangmanee and Sam O’Hara.

Duangmanee comes to UVA as one of the top-30 ranked junior players in the nation. He is ranked the No. 30 in the Class of 2023 by Golfweek and No. 32 by Junior Golf Scoreboard. He is the top-ranked junior player in Virginia for the Class of 2023.

The low amateur at the 2022 U.S. Open Sectional event, he had seven top-20 finishes at American Junior Golf Association tournaments in 2022 in addition to participating in the U.S. Junior Amateur (2021 and 2022), the Boys Junior PGA Championship and the Western Junior Championship.

In 2022, he was 11th at the Team TaylorMade Invitational, 12th at the Scott Robertson Memorial, 14th at the Junior Orange Bowl International tournament, 18th at the Dustin Johnson World Junior and 19th at the Bobby Chapman Invitational after being the runner-up there in 2021. His other top-five AJGA results was a fourth-place finish at the 2021 Justin Thomas Invitational.

A standout at Fairfax High School, Duangmanee became the school’s first state champion (6A), taking medalist honors as an 11th-grader. He was the runner-up in 2022 as a senior. His older brother, George, is currently a junior on the Cavaliers’ roster.

O’Hara (Rye, N.Y.) was named a 2022 Rolex Scholastic Junior All-American as a standout at the Brunswick School in Greenwich, Conn. He was the 2022 Long Island Amateur runner-up after winning the Long Island Junior in 2020. His top AJGA outing in 2022 was a tie for fourth place at the Golf Performance Center Junior.

He had top-20 finishes at the K.J. Choi Foundation Junior, the Junior Orange Bowl International and the Dominican Junior Open. He also competed at the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur.

O’Hara also has a connection to Virginia athletics. His mother, Dara (Brunelli), played lacrosse for the Cavaliers. His father, Timothy, also graduated from UVA. His grandfather, Sam Brunelli played six years with the Denver Broncos (1966-71) in the NFL.

As an 11-year-old, he competed at the Drive, Chip & Putt finals at Augusta National in 2016.

“This is another strong recruiting class to back up several of our recent signing classes,” said UVA head coach Bowen Sargent. “Josh comes in as a top-ranked junior in the ‘23 class. He is big and strong and will develop into a very good college player. Sam comes from a well-rounded athletic background and is another player who has the ability to compete at this level. Both are exceptional students and had UVA as their first choice.

“They are walking into a great team culture. With the mindset of winning and working hard on a daily basis, they’ll have incredible experiences in Charlottesville.”