JACKSONVILLE, Fla. \u2013 Sofia Rivera tried every sport that her parents could get her into, but golf was always going to be her game. <\/p>\n
The Beachside junior and Varsity 4 All-News4JAX girls golfer of the year picked up the sport early and got a boost of motivation from her uncle on the PGA Tour. Now, there\u2019s no question that Rivera is bona fide star and bound for the big time, with a little bit of inspiration from her uncle on the pro golf tour. <\/p>\n
She became just the sixth local girls golfer to win an individual state championship with a 4-under 67 to win the Class 3A crown by four shots<\/a>. Rivera capped her championship with a 30-foot birdie putt to slam the exclamation point on the title.<\/p>\n Local girls golf individual state champsYearGolfer, schoolClass2025Sofia Rivera, Beachside3A2024Sadaly Campbell, Fernandina Beach2A2013Nicolette Donovan, Ponte Vedra2A1978Kelly Trent, Forrest (Westside)N\/A1968Tamera Bowman, ParkerN\/A<\/p>\n Long before Rivera was a high school golfing star, she was going from sport to sport and seeing what fit the best. <\/p>\n Ballet. Tennis. Soccer. Whatever the season, Rivera had something to compete in. Golf was there, too, boosted by the small fact that her uncle, Russell Knox, was surging on the PGA Tour. Rivera said she was pulled by the tug of golf by watching her uncle week after week. Knox won twice on the PGA Tour and currently plays on the Korn Ferry Tour.<\/p>\n \u201cI kind of grew up watching him. Probably had a little bit of bias towards my decision because when I was younger, he was doing really well, like [ranked] 18th in the world at one point,\u201d Rivera said. <\/p>\n \u201cSo, I think probably like watching him do well swayed my decision a bit. But yeah, I kind of fell in love with golf early. Probably when I was like 6 is when I really chose to play golf and then from then on. \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n From then on has been a whirlwind for Rivera and Beachside. <\/p>\n As a freshman, Rivera fired a 1-under 141, just one stroke back of the individual state champ. An even bigger achievement was that of the Beachside team as a whole. The Barracudas won the first team state championship in program history. <\/p>\n They did it as just a second-year school. <\/p>\n Rivera was already a rising star in junior golf, but playing on a team where every individual score mattered was an aspect that unlocked an even stronger passion for the game. She called that season and the girls on that squad the \u201cdream team.\u201d <\/p>\n Although she was playing in her first year of varsity golf for a school that wasn\u2019t even two years old, Rivera said it felt like she and her teammates had been together for years. <\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, from there, I fell in love with high school golf. Team golf was just so exciting, and it never really felt like we hadn\u2019t done this before,\u201d Rivera said. \u201cIt was just something new and exciting that we got to go through.<\/p>\n Rivera said the best advice she\u2019s received from Knox and others has nothing to do with a club or a swing or the read on a green. <\/p>\n It\u2019s much easier than that, and it\u2019s something Rivera says with a smile when asked. <\/p>\n \u201cHe just always made sure I kept golf fun,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause he knows and every pro that I ask or anybody that I ask, and I\u2019m like, \u2018OK, if you could give me one piece of advice, what would you say?\u2019 And they always say, \u2018Just keep it fun. Don\u2019t burn yourself out. \u2026 So I always kept it fun.\u201d<\/p>\n All-News4JAX Varsity 4 girls golfers of the year<\/p>\n 2025: Sofia Rivera, Beachside<\/p>\n 2024: Sadaly Campbell<\/a>, Fernandina Beach<\/p>\n 2023: Nancy Cox, Ponte Vedra<\/a><\/p>\n 2022: Alexandra Gazzoli<\/a>, Matanzas<\/a><\/p>\n 2021: Anika Richards, Fernandina Beach<\/a><\/p>\n