By Bert Leeson
DUBLIN, Ohio – Jackson Koivun of Auburn University, Leandro Mihaich of Oklahoma Christian University, Jackson Klutznick of Emory University, Isac Wallin of Keiser University, and Grant Greazel of Kirkwood Community College have been named the 2024 Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday recipients. The Nicklaus Award recognizes the national player of the year at the Division I, II, III, NAIA, and NJCAA levels.
Koivun¸ Auburn’s first Nicklaus Award recipient, is the only golfer to win the Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, and Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman awards in the same season. Being the Division I winner of the Jack Nicklaus Award, Koivun earns a spot in the elite field for this week’s Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.
“The collegiate game is so strong right now, and this year’s group of winners serves as an ideal example of that,” said Nicklaus. “The competition among all divisions is just tremendous, and you can see how well it prepares these young men when they choose to take their careers to the next level. Just look at Ludvig Åberg, our 2023 Division I winner out of Texas Tech. A year later, Ludvig has a PGA TOUR win, has played in a Ryder Cup, and is the No. 6 player in the world. Recent recipients Chris Gotterup (2022) and Sahith Theegala (2020) have PGA TOUR victories, and after Sahith contended in the recent PGA Championship, he’s up to No. 12 in the world. The young talent out there is terrific!
“I had a chance to watch Jackson a little in the NCAA Championships, as he led Auburn to a title, and he certainly doesn’t play like a freshman. He won in extra holes in the semifinals to advance his team, and in the finals against Florida State, he was the first to put a point on the board. I think playing this week at Muirfield Village Golf Club will just add to the great experiences Jackson has enjoyed this year. We wish him well.”
Division I: Koivun, a native of San Jose, Calif., finished inside the top 10 in 12 of his 13 tournaments, including national runner-up at the 2024 NCAA Division I Championship, and had the lowest adjusted scoring average in NCAA Division I (67.3) this season. Koivun led the top-ranked Tigers to a colossal 10 tournament wins, including their first national championship and fifth Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championship in program history, by carding a combined 7-0 record in Match Play. He set school records for most subpar rounds and birdies made in a single season and was Auburn’s first, and the conference’s third, player to earn SEC Freshman and Player of the Year honors in the same season.
Division II: Mihaich transferred to Oklahoma Christian in Edmond after being a PING Second-Team All-American at Oklahoma City (NAIA) last season – and he didn’t miss a beat. The sophomore from Bell Ville, Argentina, won the Lone Star Conference (LSC) Championship, finished second at the South Central/West Regional, and won both of his matches in 2024 NCAA Division II Championship Medal Match Play. With nine top-10 and seven top-five finishes, Mihaich earned LSC Newcomer of the Year, First-Team All-LSC, PING All-Region, and PING First-Team All-America honors while leading the Eagles to their third straight NCAA Championship appearance. Mihaich is the first Oklahoma Christian golfer since Oscar Stark in 2011 (when an NAIA member) to win the Nicklaus Award.
Division III: Klutznick is the first golfer out of Atlanta-based Emory to receive the Nicklaus Award and three PING First-Team All-America honors. The senior from Denver, Colo., recorded nine top-15 finishes and the lowest adjusted scoring average in NCAA Division III (70.0) this season. Klutznick broke multiple program records with his 11-stroke victory at the Gate City Invitational. He carded 19 birdies over three rounds, including eight and a hole-in-one during his final-round 61, to complete the 16-under 197 (67-69-61). The finish broke his own one-round and three-round program records by three and nine strokes, respectively. On April 23, Klutznick became just the third NCAA Division III player to be selected for the Arnold Palmer Cup by Team USA.
NAIA: Wallin, a senior at Keiser in West Palm Beach, Fla., was the first Seahawk to earn Sun Conference Golfer of the Year honors multiple times after recording the lowest adjusted scoring average in NAIA (69.9) and finishing inside the top 10 nine times this season. A native of Kungsängen, Sweden, Wallin won four of his 10 tournaments, including the Saint Leo Invitational that fielded 19 NCAA Division II programs, four of whom were ranked in the top 17 nationally by the Bushnell/Golfweek DII Coaches Poll. Wallin shot a school-record 54-hole total of 199 (65-67-67, -17) for a six-stroke victory. Finishing inside the top five seven times, the first four-time PING All-American in program history joins former teammate Jakub Stavang Stubhaug (2022) as Nicklaus Award recipients from Keiser.
NJCAA: Greazel is the first golfer from Kirkwood, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to win the Nicklaus Award. The sophomore from Marshalltown, Iowa, carded 15 birdies, including seven in the second round and four during the final round, to win the 2024 NJCAA Division II Championship by five strokes and lead the defending national champions to a second-place finish. Greazel finished all 13 tournaments this season inside the top 15 with five top-three finishes and four victories before earning his second PING All-Region and first PING First-Team All-America honors.
Nicklaus, a Big Ten and NCAA Champion at Ohio State, helped inspire and create the Jack Nicklaus Award in 1988. The award is now presented to the National Player of the Year in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, as well as NAIA and NJCAA.
Previous Recipients
2023
Ludvig Åberg, Texas Tech Division I
Charles DeLong, Grand Valley State Division II
Alex Price, Christopher Newport Division III
Easton Johnson, The Master’s NAIA
Matthis Lefèvre, New Mexico JC NJCAA
2022
Chris Gotterup, Oklahoma Division I
AJ Ewart, Barry Division II
Will Hocker, Webster Division III
Jakob Stavang Stubhaug, Keiser NAIA
Cecil Belisle, South Mountain NJCAA
2021
John Pak, Florida State Division I
Andrew Beckler, Washburn Division II
James Mishoe, Guilford Division III
Ruan Pretorius, Point NAIA
Ben Partridge, Hutchinson NJCAA
2020
Sahith Theegala, Pepperdine Division I
Zach Zediker, Delta State Division II
Rob Wuethrich, Illinois Wesleyan Division III
Ben Rebne, Dalton State NAIA
Jon Hopkins, Mississippi Gulf Coast NJCAA
2019
Matthew Wolff, Oklahoma State Division I
Jorge Garcia, Barry Division II
Josh Gibson, Hope Division III
Mark David Johnson, Coastal Georgia NAIA
Callum Bruce, Midland College NJCAA
2018
Norman Xiong, Oregon Division I
John VanDerLaan, Florida Southern Division II
Josh Gibson, Hope Division III
SM Lee, Dalton State NAIA
Callum Bruce, Midland College NJCAA
2017
Sam Burns, LSU Division I
Chandler Blanchet, West Florida Division II
Logan Lanier, LaGrange Division III
SM Lee, Dalton State NAIA
Marco Maldonado, Tyler JC NJCAA
2016
Jon Rahm, Arizona State Division I
John Coultas, Florida Southern Division II
Addison Lambeth, Huntingdon Division III
Peter French, Johnson & Wales (FL) NAIA
Kerry Sweeney, Eastern Florida State NJCAA
2015
Maverick McNealy, Stanford Division I
Santiago Gomez, Nova Southeastern Division II
Anthony Maccaglia, Oglethorpe Division III
Sean Elliott, Dalton State NAIA
Kerry Sweeney, Eastern Florida State NJCAA
2014
Patrick Rodgers, Stanford Division I
Adam Svensson, Barry Division II
Bobby Holden, Redlands Division III
James Marchesani, Oklahoma City NAIA
Tim Walker, Central Alabama NJCAA
2013
Michael Kim, California Division I
Alex Carpenter, Abilene Christian Division II
Brad Shigezawa, Claremont McKenna Division III
Sondre Ronold, Oklahoma City NAIA
Jake Argento, South Mountain NJCAA
2012
Justin Thomas, Alabama Division I
Ben Taylor, Nova Southeastern Division II
Noah Ratner, Guilford Division III
Nathan Anderson, Texas Wesleyan NAIA
Jimmy Kozikowski, South Mountain NJCAA
2011
Patrick Cantlay, UCLA Division I
Alex Carpenter, Abilene Christian Division II
Chris Morris, Centre College Division III
Oscar Stark, Oklahoma Christian NAIA
Brandt Garon, Meridian CC NJCAA
2010
Eugene Wong, Oregon Division I
Brett Munson, North Alabama Division II
Tain Lee, Claremont McKenna Division III
Justin Lower, Malone NAIA
Abraham Ancer, Odessa College NJCAA
2009
Matt Hill, NC State Division I
Brent Witcher, Valdosta State Division II
Mitchell Fedorka, La Verne Division III
Sam Cyr, Point Loma Nazarene NAIA
2008
Kevin Chappell, UCLA Division I
Jarin Todd, Sonoma State Division II
Scott Harris Jr., St. John Fisher Division III
Sam Cyr, Point Loma Nazarene NAIA
2007
Jamie Lovemark, Southern California Division I
Jarin Todd, Sonoma State Division II
Andy Miller, Otterbein Division III
Daniel Mitchell, Oklahoma City NAIA
2006
Pablo Martin, Oklahoma State Division I
Scott Brown, USC-Aiken Division II
Stephen Goodridge, Rochester Division III
2005
Ryan Moore, UNLV Division I
Dane Burkhart, USC-Aiken Division II
Pete Weber, Loras Division III
2004
Bill Haas, Wake Forest Division I
J.J. Jakovac, Chico State Division II
Trent Erb, Oglethorpe Division III
2003
Hunter Mahan, Oklahoma State Division I
Andrew McArthur, Pfeiffer Division II
Ryan Quinn, Wisconsin-Eau Claire Division III
2002
D.J. Trahan, Clemson
2001
Bryce Molder, Georgia Tech
2000
Charles Howell III, Oklahoma State
1999
Luke Donald, Northwestern
1998
Bryce Molder, Georgia Tech
1997
Brad Elder, Texas
1996
Tiger Woods, Stanford
1995
Stewart Cink, Georgia Tech
1994
Alan Bratton, Oklahoma State
Justin Leonard, Texas
1993
David Duval, Georgia Tech
1992
Phil Mickelson, Arizona State
1991
Phil Mickelson, Arizona State
1990
Phil Mickelson, Arizona State
1989
Robert Gamez, Arizona
1988
Bob Estes, Texas
Multiple Recipients
Callum Bruce, Midland College (2018-19)
Alex Carpenter, Abilene Christian (2011, ‘13)
Josh Gibson, Hope (2018-19)
Sam Cyr, Point Loma Nazarene (2008-09)
SM Lee, Dalton State (2017-18)
Phil Mickelson, Arizona State (1990-92)
Bryce Molder, Georgia Tech (1998, ‘01)
Kerry Sweeney, Eastern Florida State (2015-16)
Jarin Todd, Sonoma State (2007-08)
About the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday
The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday is held annually at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. The Tournament, founded and hosted by Jack Nicklaus, is conducted each year with three goals in mind: to honor the memory of individuals living and deceased who have distinguished themselves in the game of golf; to showcase the world’s best golfers competing on one of the most challenging venues in the world for the enjoyment of spectators; and to benefit many Greater Columbus Charities in alliance with the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation and numerous other local organizations. For more information, visit www.thememorialtournament.com or call 614-889-6700.
About Workday
Workday is a leading enterprise platform that helps organizations manage their most important assets – their people and money. The Workday platform is built with AI at the core to help customers elevate people, supercharge work, and move their business forever forward. Workday is used by more than 10,500 organizations around the world and across industries – from medium-sized businesses to more than 60% of the Fortune 500. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com.
COURTESY THE MEMORIAL TOURNAMENT AND COLLEGIATE GOLF COACHES ASSOCIATION
