As conference championship season has arrived in college golf, that means the postseason is here and awards are right around the corner.
While the Haskins Award is given to the Player of the Year in college golf, the Phil Mickelson Award is also one of the notorious awards given out at the end of the year. The Phil Mickelson Award is given to the nation’s best freshman every year. Last year, it was Virginia’s Ben James taking home the title.
This year, there have been a few notable freshmen to play well, including one who set a new 54-hole college golf scoring record.
Who are the top candidates for the Phil Mickelson Award? Here’s a look at five listed in alphabetical order.
Arizona State freshman Wenyi Ding at the 2024 Amer Ari Invitaitonal. (Photo: Alex Gelman/Sun Devil Athletics)
Ding won his second college start in record fashion, shooting 27 under over 54 holes and setting a college golf all-time scoring record. Not bad for a spring enrollee. He has five top-10 finishes in six starts this spring and the win at the Amer Ari.
Auburn’s Jackson Koivun. (Photo: Lucas Peltier)
Koivun has been remarkably consistent all season long. He has nine top-6 finishes, and his worst finish is T-19 at the Williams Cup. He won the Wake Forest Invitational at Pinehurst No. 2, and in the spring has been beaten by only 10 golfers in six events.
Notre Dame freshman Jacob Modleski won the 2024 Jones Cup Invitational. (Photo: Jones Cup)
Modleski has one win, coming at the Johnnie-O at Sea Island. He has seven top-20 finishes and also won the Jones Cup in January, though that’s not a college event.
UCLA’s Luke Powell. (Photo: Hawaii-Hilo)
Powell came out of the gates hot in the spring, finishing three times in the top three in four starts, including a win at the Hamptons Intercollegiate. He has two top-20 finishes this spring but has struggled as of late.
Florida’s Jack Turner. (Florida Athletics)
After beating only two players in his Florida debut in the fall, Turner hasn’t finished worse than T-14 and has four top-10 finishes in his six events this season, including a runner-up finish at the Georgetown Intercollegiate.
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