Women’s golf is at the forefront this week as the top players in the world meet for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, to be played at Champions Retreat Golf Club and Augusta National Golf Club on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.
As an amateur event and not a college event, the ANWA doesn’t figure into the selection of the ANNIKA Award, but the tournament will still showcase many of the college game’s best, like top-ranked Rose Zhang and her Stanford teammate Rachel Heck, who has now won eight titles with the Cardinal.
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
Amari Avery smiles as she leaves the No. 12 tee during a practice round for the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, Friday, April 2, 2021. Photo by Augusta National
Welcome to the lineup, Amari Avery. The first-semester freshman from Riverside, California, finished sixth at the Lamkin Invitational in her debut with the team, then won her next to starts at the ICON Invitational and the Gold Rush. That has shades of LPGA player and former Trojan Annie Park, who ended her first semester at USC with a postseason sweep.
The Wake Forest Bryan National Collegiate at the Bryan Park Champions Course on Monday, September 27, 2021 in Greensboro, North Carolina. (Wake Forest Athletic Communications)
The freshman from Spain’s spring-opening victory at the UCF Challenge was head-turning as she went 19 under to do it. At the next tournament, the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate, she was back at the top and picked up her second individual title. Since getting her feet wet in her college golf debut at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate, Chacarra hasn’t finished outside the top 17.
South Carolina celebrates a bogey-free 66 from Hannah Darling at the ANNIKA Intercollegiate. (Photo: ANNIKA Foundation)
Made an immediate impact for a rebuilt Gamecocks roster by opening the ANNIKA Intercollegiate in September with a bogey-free round of 66 and then going on to finish second at that event. Most recently she was T-2 at the Valspar Augusta Invitational.
Alexandra Forsterling, Arizona State (ASU Athletics)
The Sun Devil senior is making the most of her last year in the desert, having finished inside the top 10 in three of four spring starts so far. She finished third at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge but most recently, she earned medalist honors at the Ping/ASU Invitational, while leading her squad to the team title in an event that featured No. 1-ranked Stanford and No. 2 Oregon.
Heck returned this season after winning the ANNIKA Award with a dominant freshman campaign. It was a bit of a slow fall for the Stanford sophomore, but this spring, Heck has won two of three starts to reach eight career titles for the Cardinal which is just one shy of the program record.
Cindy Kou, USC (John McGillen, USC Athletics)
Kou began her career at USC this fall 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. She has picked up two more top-5 finishes this spring at the ICON Invitational and the Gold Rush.
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, New York. Photo by Darren Carroll/USGA
The senior from Germany is a steady presence for Stanford, having played the entire fall season without finishing outside the top 10.
Rachel Kuehn
The junior got back in the winner’s circle at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in California, which featured a deep field of talent from both sides of the country. That’s career title No. 4 for Kuehn, and her second this season.
Ingrid Lindblad. (LSU Athletics)
Lindblad is arguably the most consistent player in women’s college golf and one of the top-ranked players on the East Coast. Lindblad, a junior from Sweden, has now won seven times as a Tiger. In addition to all the individual titles, she has 20 top-10 finishes in 25 starts and has only ever finished outside the top 25 in two starts.
Virginia Tech’s Emily Mahar (Marc Guertin)
The Australian is an often-overlooked player in women’s college golf, but her game has carried her to top-5 finishes in each of her last four college starts.
Natasha Andrea Oon. (Photo: Terrell Lloyd, San José State Athletics)
The senior has been a strong leader on the course for San Jose State, logging three top-3 finishes so far this spring. She has finished runner-up twice this season.
Calynne Rosholt, Arizona State (ASU Athletics)
Rosholt always seems to be in the mix this spring, with a top-3 finish in the loaded Darius Rucker Intercollegiate field being the most recent example.
Emma Spitz, UCLA (UCLA Athletics)
Spitz finished the fall season with a tie for second at the Nanea Pac-12 Preview and most recently tied for sixth at the Lamkin Invitational.
Florida State golfer Beatrice Wallin hits out of the 18th bunker during the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship at Grayhawk Golf Club. (Photo: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports)
Wallin returned for her senior season with the Seminoles despite having status on the Epson Tour this spring. The talented Swede missed much of the fall season at LPGA Q-School but has finished T-5, T-7, T-2 so far this spring.
Rose Zhang
Zhang is the top-ranked player in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings as well as the World Amateur Golf Ranking. She did exactly as expected upon arriving at Stanford, which was win her first three starts out of the gate. She has finished fourth, second and second this spring.
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