A player undoubtedly near the top of the Haskins Award Watch List is North Carolina senior David Ford (above) who beat stacked fields at both the Ben Hogan Collegiate and UNC’s own Williams Cup. He is ranked #2 in the country and has a record of 282-12-8. 

Right behind him in the rankings but with ‘only’ one medalist honors so far is Josele Ballester of Arizona State (above). The reigning US Amateur champion captured his collegiate win at the prestigious OFCC-Fighting Illini. Ballester has one of the best records among male players who have faced at least 100 opponents at 224-6-2, and has a 2-1-0 record against Ford. 

The only player anywhere close to those impressive W-L-T records – minimum 100 opponents faced – is South Florida’s Jake Peacock who registered his own win at the FAU Golf Invitational and currently sits at 242-7-4.

Besides Ford, the list of male players players ranked inside the top 100 who have earned multiple medalist honors includes Sebastian Moss (Louisville, above), Nick Mason (Kansas State), Patrick Adler (Marquette), Claes Borregaard (Kennesaw State), Lukas Boandl (Rice), and John Heckel Jr (Army West Point).

There are only two players within the top 100 on either the men’s or women’s side with three victories: Jasmine Koo (Southern California freshman, above) and Gabi Nicastro (Samford). Understandably, Koo has vaulted to the top of the various award watch lists such as the Annika Award with early season victories at the Windy City Collegiate, Stanford Intercollegiate, and East Lake Cup. 

Her teammate, Catherine Park, who won three times last season and once already this season, finished runner-up in the latter two events. 

The women’s side is perhaps a bit more interesting with respect to player wins and records. Only one player remains unbeaten in D1 college golf and that is Florida State’s Mirabel Ting (above) who is 158-0-0 winning the two tournaments she’s played this year: the Folds of Honor Collegiate and the Schooner Fall Classic.

The latter was shortened to 36 holes and she missed the team’s other two events while competing in the LPGA Maybank Championship, meaning she’s only played five collegiate rounds this season. 

Other players ranked around the top 100 with multiple wins this Fall includes Avery Weed (Mississippi State), Natasha Kiel (Purdue, above), Riana Mission (San Francisco), Louise Reau (Georgia Southern), Grace Jin (Sam Houston, freshman), Emma Schimpf (Charleston), Veronika Kedroňová (Kent State), and Lousiane Gauthier (Florida Gulf Coast). 

Ting’s FSU teammate Lottie Woad has also been in the winner’s circle and has a remarkable win-loss-tie record of 279-5-4.

Others with single digits in the loss column include: Megha Ganne (Stanford) 154-3-1, Anna Davis (Auburn) 358-6-4, Megan Streicher (UNC) 306-8-3, and Meja Ortengren (Stanford) 208-9-6. Both Streicher and Ortengren have several top 5 finishes but no medalist honors yet this season.

Ganne won the Nanea Invitational — formerly the Pac-12 Preview tournament — and was third behind the USC teammates at Stanford’s home tournament. Davis (above) is the lowest ranked of the group, but has four top-three finishes including a win at Medinah where she set Auburn’s program scoring record.

Players now have an extended opportunity to relax and recharge during the holiday season. Thanks to the outstanding facilities available across the country, they’re well-equipped to maintain their sharpness. It will be exciting to see the level of play they bring into the Spring season.

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