As the fall season winds to a close, it’s time to recognize players who set themselves apart as frontrunners in women’s college golf over the past two and a half months. Perhaps none accomplished that quite like Rose Zhang, the top-ranked amateur who started her Stanford career this fall with three individual titles and remains undefeated as a college player. There are plenty of talented women, however, on her heels.
The ANNIKA Award honors the player of the year in women’s college golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media. The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the ANNIKA Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel writers.
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Women’s team | Women’s individual
Made an immediate impact for a rebuilt Gamecocks roster by opening the ANNIKA Intercollegiate in September with a bogey-free round of 66. Subsequent rounds of 73-66 left her second individually, and the Scottish player went on to finish seventh at the Windy City. Head coach Kalen Anderson calls Darling a simple player who doesn’t overthink it.
South Carolina celebrates a bogey-free 66 from Hannah Darling at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate. (Photo: ANNIKA Foundation)
The junior from Madrid, Spain, won the Sam Golden Invitational right out of the gate then finished third at the Schooner Fall Classic. The Sam Golden was the first career college victory for a player who won twice over the summer in her native Spain.
Blanca Fernández García-Poggio, Texas A&M (Texas A&M photo)
Fierro’s story has been one of consistency this season with finishes of T-5, T-7 and third in three starts.
Isabella Fierro, Oklahoma State
The TCU senior has shown marked improvement from last year to this year. Her scoring average for the fall season is 69 and in three tournament starts, she finished T-3, T-5 and T-4.
Sabrina Iqbal, TCU (TCU Athletics)
Johnson, returning from the Rebels’ national title team, burst into her senior season by winning the individual title at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate with rounds of 67-67-70. After a T-17 finish at the Blessings Collegiate, she scored another top 5 at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup. Needless to say, Johnson excels on difficult venues.
Ole Miss golfer Julia Johnson tees off on the third hole during the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship Final at Grayhawk Golf Club. (Photo: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)
Kim has teed it up twice for the Commodores so far in her senior season, finishing in the top 5 both times at the Cougar Classic and Mason Rudolph Championship. She opened the latter with a crisp round of 65.
Auston Kim (right) and her caddie August Kim (left) during the first round at the 2020 U.S. Women’s Open at Champions Golf Club (Jackrabbit Course) in Houston, Texas on Thursday, Dec. 10, 2020. (Chris Keane/USGA)
As freshmen go, Kou has made a big impact for USC. She’s played to a team-low 71 stroke average and started out her career with a third-place finish at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate then backed it up with another top-5 finish a month later at the Windy City Collegiate.
Xin “Cindy” Kou hits a bunker shot on the 14th hole during the first round of stroke play at the 2021 U.S. Girls’ Junior at Columbia Country Club in Chevy Chase, Md. on Monday, July 12, 2021. (Photo: Kathryn Riley/USGA)
Krauter, a senior for the Cardinal, has been a consistent presence in three fall events, never finishing worse than a tie for eighth. Last year’s British Women’s Amateur champion collected valuable experience on the summer circuit to bring into her final season, playing the Amundi Evian Championship, AIG Women’s British Open and making a deep run at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Aline Krauter tees off on the fifth hole during the round of 64 at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021. (Photo by Darren Carroll/USGA)
After Kuehn won stroke-play medalist honors at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, and represented the U.S. at the Curtis Cup, she returned for her junior season at Wake Forest with a top-25 at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate before hitting her stride with a T-2 finish at the Bryan National Collegiate and a win at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invite.
Rachel Kuehn poses with her medal following the second round of stroke play at the 2021 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. on Tuesday, Aug. 3, 2021. (Darren Carroll/USGA)
The Swede has established herself as one of the most consistent players in women’s college golf and thus has maintained a constant presence on this list. Most recently, Lindblad won the individual title at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, but has a T-3 and a T-10 finish to her credit this fall, too.
Ingrid Lindblad of Sweden plays her shot from the third tee during the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Augusta National Golf Club on April 03, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Nothing speaks for this redshirt senior’s game quite like the NCAA scoring record she posted at the Cougar Classic to open the season. Her 25-under 191 total blasted the previous 54-hole record of 19 under. Rounds of 63-64-64 gave her a 13-shot win. Matthews also won Arkansas’ own Blessings Intercollegiate this month.
Brooke Matthews (Walt Beazley, Arkansas Athletics)
The junior transferred to Stillwater, Oklahoma, this year from Kent State after a successful turn on the Great Britain & Ireland Curtis Cup team. It was a big boon for the Cowgirls, given that McGinty finished third at the Sam Golden Invitational out of the gate and has won in her last two starts at the Schooner Fall Classic and Jim West Challenge. She is 23 under for those two victories.
Great Britain and Ireland Team members Emily Toy, left, and Caley McGinty fist bump on the seventeenth green during the Foursomes match against the USA Team at the 2021 Curtis Cup at Conwy Golf Club in North Wales, United Kingdom on Friday, Aug. 27, 2021. (Oisin Keniry/USGA)
The freshman debuted on a Sun Devil team going through some rebuilding and delivered a much-needed 13th-place finish at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate then finished fifth at the Stanford Intercollegiate.
Calynne Rosholt, Arizona State (ASU Athletics)
A fourth-place finish at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate and a runner-up at the Ruth’s Chris Tar Heel Invitational have been big bright spots in Shepherd’s solid fall season.
Erica Shepherd
Welcome to college golf, Rose Zhang. Eight of her nine competitive rounds so far have been under par and Zhang has won all three tournaments in which Stanford has competed: the Molly Intercollegiate, Windy City Intercollegiate and Stanford Intercollegiate. Her scoring average through nine rounds is 69.11. Given Zhang’s stout pre-college resume (a U.S. Women’s Amateur title and a U.S. Girls’ Junior title), that she would instantly rise to the top isn’t all that surprising.
Rose Zhang celebrates with her Stanford teammates at the Windy City Collegiate Classic. (Photo: Darren Reese/Stanford University)
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