Annika Sorenstam’s name is magic in professional golf and it soon will become synonymous with women’s collegiate golf. Beginning in 2014, The ANNIKA Foundation, in conjunction with the Haskins Commission, created the ANNIKA Award Presented by 3M — an honor that every year will recognize the most outstanding NCAA Division I women’s golfer. An exciting new partnership was announced with the winner g
aining an exemption into the Evian Championship. The Haskins Commission, a 501(c)3 organization in Columbus, Ga., governs the Haskins Award,presented annually to the top men’s player in college golf. For 41 years, this coveted trophy has honored the late Fred Haskins, a teaching pro who instilled the values of amateur golf to generations of youthful competitors. Annika, an eight-time Rolex LPGA Player of the Year, said the relationship between her foundation and the Haskins Commission is a natural one.
“The Haskins Award has been a prestigious accolade recognizing the best male collegiate players for over 40 years. I am thrilled to work with the Haskins Commission to create The ANNIKA Award to similarly honor the best collegiate female golfers.”
President Madden Hatcher Jr., said the Haskins Commission has been exploring a logical expansion into the women’s game and that a chance to work with the LPGA legend makes the new award even more attractive.
“We felt comfortable with Annika and her colleagues from the moment we met them. Her name and her sterling reputation will give The ANNIKA Award instant recognition and prestige and be a perfect companion to the Haskins Award whose list of winners parallel her achievements in women’s golf,” Hatcher said. The winner of the Haskins Award is decided by a vote of college golfers and media members who cover the collegiate game and the commission will create a similar voting process for The ANNIKA Award. The Haskins Award winner receives an automatic exemption into the Greenbrier Classic and future recipients of The ANNIKA Award will be given an exemption into the Evian Championship. The ANNIKA Foundation and Golfweek magazine — official media partner of The ANNIKA Award — are also finalizing plans for a major women’s college tournament to be played in Orlando, Fla. Annika, a former college star at the University of Arizona, hopes to attract many of the top college teams in the country starting in 2014. Born in Sweden, Annika won seven collegiate tournaments, including the 1991 NCAA Championship. That same year, she was NCAA Co-Player of the Year with Kelly Robbins and was named to the Women’s All-America team. In 1992, she was Pac-10 champion and finished second in the NCAA Championships. She turned pro that same year.
“College golf meant a lot to me and helped get my career going in the right direction. And my Foundation provides playing opportunities globally to juniors who are passionate about the game. Therefore, creating a first-class invitational tournament for the best women’s teams to kick off the college golf season is a natural progression,” Annika said. The primary sponsor of the Haskins Award is Stifel, a full service brokerage and investment-banking firm based in St. Its official media sponsor is Golfweek magazine. The award was created in 1970 and its list of winners is spectacular, beginning with Ben Crenshaw, who took home the first three. Phil Mickelson of Arizona State is the only other three-time winner (1990, 1991 and 1992). Past winners are among the top players on the 2013 PGA Tour, including Tiger Woods (1996), Matt Kuchar (1998), Luke Donald (1999) Graeme McDowell (2002) and Hunter Mahan (2003).
