College golf is back, which means it’s time to look at Player of the Year candidates.
The Annika Award presented by Stifel honors the player of the year in college men’s golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media.
Last year, Rose Zhang dominated college golf, earning the Annika Award for the second straight year. She went on to win her first start as a professional at the Mizuho Americas Open and is now a part of the United States Solheim Cup team.
On Monday, the Annika Foundation announced its 2023-24 Annika Award preseason watch list. The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the Annika Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel writers.
Here’s a look at the 25 golfers on the preseason watch list.
San Jose State’s Kajsa Arwefjall won the USF Intercollegiate at Olympic Club. (Photo: San Jose State Athletics)
The preseason second-team All-America selection, is ranked 33rd in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and is a fifth-year senior. In her career, she has one tournament title, 18 top-10s and seven other top-20 finishes.
Amari Avery plays her shot from the 11th tee during the second round of the 2023 Chevron Championship at The Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas. (Photo: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Avery has won four times for the Trojans and carded 11 top-10 finishes. This summer, she made match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur and also played in the U.S. Women’s Open. She’s a two-time All-American, earning third-team honors last season.
UCLA’s Zoe Campos won the Anuenue Spring Break Classic. (Photo: Ka’anapali Golf Courses)
Campos was a first-team All-America selection last season and played in the U.S. Women’s Open. She was also on the 2023 Palmer Cup team. She had two victories last season as a sophomore.
South Carolina’s Hannah Darling. (Photo: South Carolina Athletics)
Darling, a junior, is a two-time All-American and has nine top-five finishes in her first two seasons at South Carolina. She also advanced to the semifinals of the Women’s Amateur Championship in 2022.
Megha Ganne lines up her putt on hole 11 during the round of 64 of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. (James Gilbert/USGA)
Ganne won her first collegiate tournament in the first start of her sophomore season in the Carmel Cup at Pebble Beach. She has the skill to win many more tournaments, as well.
Cayetana Fernandez Garcia-Poggio of Spain reacts to her birdie on No. 18 during the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Augusta National Golf Club, Saturday, April 1, 2023. (Photo: Augusta National Women’s Amateur)
Garcia-Poggio is ranked second in the World Amateur Golf Ranking before hitting a shot for Texas A&M. She finished fourth at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur in 2023.
England’s Charlotte Heath holds the winning amateur’s trophy after the 2023 Women’s British Open Golf Championship at Walton Heath Golf Club in Walton-on-the-Hill. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
Heath, a reigning first-team All-American, won the Smyth Salver finishing as the low amateur at the AIG Women’s Open. Last season, she set a new single-season stroke average mark at 70.56 and has 16 top-10 finishes in three years.
Rachel Heck, Annika Award winner (Darren Reese/Stanford)
Heck won the Annika Award in 2021 before her Stanford teammate Rose Zhang won the past two years. Heck is finally healthy after two years of battling injuries and sickness, and she was a semifinalist at the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Oklahoma State’s Maddison Hinson-Tolchard hits her tee shot on the first hole during the opening round of the 2023 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Photo: Oklahoma State Athletics)
Last year, Hinson-Tolchard finished fourth at the NCAA Championship, two shots behind Rose Zhang. She’s also a preseason second-team All-American.
Rachel Kuehn from Wake Forest plays her tee shot on the 10th hole during the first day of stroke play competition at the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale. (Photo: Rob Schumacher/The Arizona Republic)
Kuehn’s career is one for the record books. She’s a four-time All-American, two-time ACC Golfer of the Year and won the national championship last year with Wake Forest, leading the Demon Deacons to the first title in school history.
Mackenzie Lee reads her putt on hole 18 during the first round of stroke play at the 2022 U.S. Girls’ Junior at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky. on Monday, July 18, 2022. (Kathryn Riley/USGA)
Lee was stellar as a freshman for the Mustangs, as she was second on the team with a 71.78 scoring average. Lee placed in the top 10 in eight competitions during the season. She finished with the second lowest scoring round in program history
Andrea Lignell, of Sweden, chips onto the 18th green during the first round of The Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat in Augusta, Ga., on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. Ligness finished the day in second at -5. (Photo: Katie Goodale, USA Today)
Lignell was one of the finalists for the Annika Award last season, where she earned first-team All-America honors and finished third at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
Ingrid Lindblad, of Sweden, watches her ball off the sixth tee during the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament at the Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C. on Thursday, June 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Lindblad, the top-ranked player in WAGR and winner of the Mark H. McCormack medal, is a four-time first-team All-American. She was low amateur at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open and is a two-time SEC Player of the Year.
Julia Lopez Ramirez of Spain tees off on the 1st hole on Day One of the AIG Women’s Open at Walton Heath Golf Club on August 10, 2023 in Tadworth, England. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)
The reigning SEC Player of the Year has a breakout season as a sophomore. Lopez Ramirez is a two-time All-American and won three times, including the SEC Championship and NCAA Westfield Regional. She also had eight top-five finishes in 12 events.
Caitlyn Macnab of South Africa plays her second shot on the second hole during the final round of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Augusta National Golf Club on April 01, 2023 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
One of college golf’s major transfers, Macnab heads to Ole Miss from TCU, where she played in 23 tournaments, having a 71.73 stroke average. She collected 11 top-10 finishes the last two seasons with the Horned Frogs and is a member of the South African national team.
Caley McGinty hits her tee shot on hole six during the first round of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (James Gilbert/USGA)
McGinty is back for her final season at Ohio State, and the preseason second-team All-American won one time for the Buckeyes last year and carded the lowest round (9-under 63) in program history.
Arizona State’s Ashley Menne at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Cup. (Photo: Arnold Palmer Cup)
Another preseason second-team All-American, is a three-time All-America selection and was on the Palmer Cup team this summer and won the Arizona Women’s Amateur.
Anna Morgan of the United States 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 02, 2022 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
Furman has had a stellar career for Furman, and last year was the best yet. She was the 2023 Southern Conference Female Athlete of the Year, SoCon Player of the Year and All-SoCon selection for the third-straight season.
UCF women’s golfer Tunrada Piddon. (Photo: UCF Athletics)
The graduate student from Bangkok had a stellar senior season. She won the Mercedes Benz Intercollegiate, was first on the team in scoring average with a 71.68 and had six top-10s and two top-20 finishes.
Kiara Romero plays with her golf ball before hitting her tee shot on hole four during the first round of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023. (James Gilbert/USGA)
Romero, an incoming freshman, is expected to make big waves this season. This summer, she captured the U.S. Girls’ Junior title and made it to match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Amanda Sambach, of N.C., putts on the 9th hole green during the first round of The Augusta National Women’s Amateur at Champions Retreat in Augusta, Ga., on Wednesday, March 29, 2023. (Photo: Katie Goodale, USA Today)
A reigning first-team All-American, Sambach enters her junior year off a three-win sophomore season, including in the Annika Intercollegiate, and a season where she set a school record for single-season stroke average (71.31).
Megan Schofill kisses the Robert Cox Trophy on the iconic hole ten bridge after winning the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023. (James Gilbert/USGA)
Schofill, who has finished runner-up twice at the SEC Championship, claimed her place on the golf throne this summer when she captured the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles.
Latanna Stone hits her tee shot on hole 12 during the final round of the 2023 U.S. Women’s Amateur at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif. on Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023. (James Gilbert/USGA)
Stone has been incredibly consistent over her career at LSU, and she had another strong summer, culminating in her runner-up finish at the U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Amateur Jeneath Wong of Malaysia plays her shot from the 15th tee during the second round of the 78th U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on July 07, 2023 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
As a freshman, Wong earned honorable mention All-America honors. This year, she heads into the season off match play appearances at the 2023 U.S. Girls’ Junior and U.S. Women’s Amateur.
Lottie Woad won the Florida State Match Up. (FSU Athletics)
As a freshman, Woad had the fourth-best single-season scoring average (71.06) in school history. She had eight top-10 finishes in 11 starts and became a focal point in the Seminoles’ lineup.
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