Darling Named Finalist Again for ANNIKA Award

COLUMBUS, Ga. – Sophomore All-American Hannah Darling was named one of ten finalists for the ANNIKA Award on Monday, the Haskins Foundation announced in conjunction with Golfweek and Golf Channel. It’s the second straight year Darling has been named a finalist for the coveted award.

The Midlothian, Scotland, native has put together another fine season as she earned First Team All-SEC honors for the second time. She became the seventh player in school history to be named First Team All-SEC on multiple occasions.

Darling, who is ranked No. 6 in the latest Golfstat Player Rankings, is fresh off an outstanding third place showing at the NCAA Athens Regional, in which she shot 210 (-6) and a bogey free 67 (-5) in the final round. She leads the team with four top-five finishes, six top-10s and seven top-20s in nine stroke play starts. Her 71.88 scoring average and 14 rounds of par or better also leads the team.

Voting for the award, done by coaches, players, SIDs and golf media, is now open and will remain open through the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championship, which concludes Monday, May 22.

The 2023 ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel will be presented Tuesday, May 23 on Golf Channel. The 2023 ANNIKA Award winner will also be awarded an exemption into the 2024 Amundi Evian Championship, one of the majors on the LPGA.

The No. 4 Gamecocks head west tomorrow for the 2023 NCAA Championship at Grayhawk. It’s the team’s third-straight NCAA Championship appearance and its 12^th in 16 seasons under head coach Kalen Anderson. First round action gets underway on Friday. Stay tuned to GamecocksOnline.com for more information.

About the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel:

Created in 2014, the ANNIKA Award presented by Stifel is annually given to the top female Division 1 collegiate golfer; the winner voted on by players, coaches and members of the college golf media. Named for Annika Sorenstam, the award was created in partnership with the Haskins Foundation to acknowledge the top female golfer and to match the Haskins Award presented by Stifel, which acknowledges the top male Division I collegiate golfer. Rose Zhang (Stanford) became the 9th ANNIKA Award winner in 2022, and the second consecutive winner from Stanford.

Stifel, one of the nation’s leading wealth management and investment banking firms, serves as the presenting sponsor of both the ANNIKA and Haskins Awards, recognizing annually the most outstanding NCAA Division I female and male college golfers. Stifel also serves as a presenting sponsor for the NCAA Division I Women’s and Men’s Golf Championships on GOLF Channel.

Final ANNIKA Award Watch List 

Jenny Bae, Georgia

Zoe Campos, UCLA

Hannah Darling, South Carolina

Charlotte Heath, Florida State

Rachel Kuehn, Wake Forest

Andrea Lignell, Ole Miss
Ingrid Lindblad, LSU

Julia Lopez Ramirez, Mississippi State

Amanda Sambach, Virginia

Rose Zhang, Stanford

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