By Stuart Mason
DUBLIN, Ohio – David Ford of North Carolina, Adam Duncan of Colorado Christian, Jonathan McEwen of Washington & Lee, Jack Whaley of Dalton State, and Adam Bresnu of Odessa have been named the 2025 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.
“This year’s group of winners once again puts on display the incredible depth of talent in the collegiate game that has led to parity at every level, evident by our Division I, II, and III recipients being the first Nicklaus Award recipient in their school’s history,” said Nicklaus. “You only need to look at the PGA TOUR right now to understand how strong college golf currently is and how the competition has set them up for success at the next level. The last five Division I winners of the Jack Nicklaus Award who have turned pro have all won on the PGA TOUR.”
Division I: Ford is the first Tar Heel golfer to receive the Nicklaus Award. The senior from Peachtree Corners, Ga., won a national-best and school-record five tournaments, including a program-first three straight between March 25 and April 13, and tallied four other top-10 finishes this season. He went 3-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship match play and was the ACC Men’s Golfer of the Month in October, March, and April. Ranked No. 1 via Scoreboard powered by Clippd, Ford’s school-record 68.78 scoring average led the nation. Ford also broke single-season program records for strokes below par (89), score to par per round (-2.47), and rounds in the 60s (25).
Division II: Duncan is the first Colorado Christian golfer to receive the Nicklaus Award. Ranked No. 1 via Scoreboard powered by Clippd, the senior from Bakersfield, Calif., compiled four victories, 10 top-10 finishes, and a 68.69 scoring average for the top-ranked and national runner-up Cougars. Duncan earned his second straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) Golfer of the Year and PING First Team All-American honors and became the first Colorado Christian golfer to be selected to compete in the Arnold Palmer Cup. He will represent Team USA at Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland, S.C., June 5-7.
Division III: McEwen is the first Washington & Lee golfer to receive the Nicklaus Award. The only NCAA Division III golfer with a 2024-25 scoring average below 70 (69.50), McEwen recorded five victories and two other top-five finishes during his sophomore campaign. His wins included the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship, where he broke the tournament and school’s 54-hole scoring record (11-under 204), and his co-medalist honors at the Golfweek October Classic. Ranked No. 1 via Scoreboard powered by Clippd, the Portsmouth, Va., native finished T10 at the 2025 NCAA Division III Championship and was named PING First Team All-American for the second straight year.
NAIA: Whaley won five times this season, including the 2025 NAIA Championship that saw an opening-round and tournament-record 61, and finished inside the top three in all nine tournaments for the Roadrunners. The sophomore from Doncaster, England, tallied a 69.52 scoring average with 14 rounds in the 60s en route to PING First Team All-American and Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Player of the Year honors for the second straight year. Whaley, ranked No. 1 via Scoreboard powered by Clippd since at least October 16, is Dalton State’s fourth Nicklaus Award recipient since 2015, joining Ben Rebne (2020), SM Lee (2017-18), and Sean Elliott (2015).
NJCAA: Ranked No. 1 via Scoreboard powered by Clippd since at least October 16, Bresnu finished inside the top nine in all 14 tournaments for the Wranglers, including five victories and five runner-ups. The sophomore from Rabat, Morocco, won the season’s first three tournaments, including the Don York Memorial and Folds of Honor Challenge by a combined 15 strokes, and secured runner-up finishes in the season’s last three tournaments, including the NJCAA Division I National Championship. He was the only NJCAA Division I golfer with a 2024-25 scoring average below 70 (69.525) and carded 18 rounds in the 60s. Bresnu is Odessa’s second Nicklaus Award recipient, joining Abraham Ancer in 2010.
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.
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 the AI platform for managing people, money, and agents. 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 11,000 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.
Previous Recipients
2024
Jackson Koivun, Auburn Division I
Leandro Mihaich, Oklahoma Christian Division II
Jackson Klutznick, Emory Division III
Isac Wallin, Keiser NAIA
Grant Greazel, Kirkwood NJCAA
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)
Recipients by School
Abilene Christian (2)
Alabama (1)
Arizona (1)
Arizona State (4)
Auburn (1)
Barry (3)
California (1)
Central Alabama (1)
Centre College (1)
Chico State (1)
Christopher Newport (1)
Claremont McKenna (2)
Clemson (1)
Coastal Georgia (1)
Colorado Christian (1)
Dalton State (5)
Delta State (1)
Eastern Florida State (2)
Emory (1)
Florida State (1)
Florida Southern (2)
Georgia Tech (4)
Grand Valley State (1)
Guilford (2)
Hope (2)
Huntingdon (1)
Hutchinson (1)
Illinois Wesleyan (1)
Johnson & Wales (1)
Keiser (2)
Kirkwood (1)
La Verne (1)
Loras (1)
LSU (1)
Malone (1)
NC State (1)
Meridian CC (1)
Midland College (2)
Mississippi Gulf Coast (1)
North Alabama (1)
North Carolina (1)
Northwestern (1)
Nova Southeastern (2)
Odessa College (2)
Oglethorpe (2)
Oklahoma (1)
Oklahoma Christian (2)
Oklahoma City (3)
Oklahoma State (5)
Oregon (2)
Otterbein (1)
Pepperdine (1)
Point University (1)
Point Loma Nazarene (2)
Pfeiffer (1)
Redlands (1)
Rochester (1)
St. John Fisher (1)
Sonoma State (2)
South Mountain CC (3)
Southern California (1)
Stanford (3)
Texas (3)
Texas Wesleyan (1)
The Master’s (1)
Tyler JC (1)
UCLA (2)
UNLV (1)
USC-Aiken (2)
Valdosta State (1)
Wake Forest (1)
Washburn (1)
Washington & Lee (1)
Webster (1)
West Florida (1)
Wisconsin-Eau Claire (1)
COURTESY GOLF COACHES ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA
