Arizona State’s Josele Ballester won the 2024 Fighting Illini Invitational. (Photo: ASU Athletics)
As mentioned above, Ford and Ballester have been two of the best players to begin the season. Ford is ranked second in the NCAA golf rankings, with Ballester a spot behind. The top-ranked player is Texas’ Daniel Bennett, who has played only six rounds, the only player in the top 17 with fewer than 12 rounds this fall.
Last year’s top two players, Auburn sophomore Jackson Koivun and Florida State junior Luke Clanton, are finding their groove after incredible performances in 2023-24. Koivun won his season-opening event but hasn’t finished in the top five since.
Clanton, meanwhile, hasn’t finished worse than 15th, but his lone top-five finish came last week at the East Lake Cup, a 20-player field. He’s 51st in the NCAA golf rankings, and the Seminoles are trying to find their form after a national runner-up finish in May.
After transferring from East Tennessee State after his coach, Jake Amos, took the LSU job, Algot Kleen has been stellar this fall. One win, a runner-up finish and he’s fifth in the rankings.
The race for the Haskins Award is wide open, and the spring will be a big opportunity for a player to nab the highest honor in men’s college golf.
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