Golden Bear golfer joins an exclusive list of past winners
COLUMBUS, Ga. – Michael Kim of the University of California is the winner of the 2013 Haskins Award, becoming the first Golden Bear golfer honored in the 43-year history of college golf’s most coveted prize.
The winner was announced Tuesday by the Fred Haskins Commission following one of the closest votes in the history of an award that is selected by college golfers and coaches along with members of the golf media.
“Voters have once again recognized an outstanding golfer and an equally impressive young man. Michael Kim was the No. 1 player on the nation’s No. 1 team and certainly deserves to have his name added to the Haskins Award’s legendary list of past winners,” said J. Madden Hatcher Jr., the commission president.
The Fred Haskins Commission, a 501©(3) organization in Columbus, Ga, has governed the Haskins Award since 1970 and in partnership with legendary golfer Annika Sorenstam it will begin honoring the top female college player with the ANNIKA AWARD in 2014.
Kim rushed to the top of the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings in February and his consistent play kept him near the top all season. The Golden Bear sophomore was Pac-12 Golfer of the Year, a first-team All-American and Golfweek’s Player of the Year. He helped the USA to the Palmer Cup title and has qualified for the 2013 U.S. Open. His 70.73 stroke average is the best in Cal history.
In an unusual twist, three of the top five Haskins’ vote getters were teammates at Cal, including Kim, Brandon Nagy and second-place finisher Max Homa – the medalist in the NCAA Championships. Other finalists were Bobby Wyatt and Cory Whitsett.of the University of Alabama, who sparked the Crimson Tide to the 2013 NCAA title along with 2012 Haskins Award winner Justin Thomas.
The Haskins Award is sponsored by Stifel, a financial services company based in St. Louis, Mo., by Golfweek and by the Greenbrier Classic. The award will be presented July 2 at the Greenbrier at a dinner sponsored by the golf tournament and by Stifel. Kim also receives a sponsor’s exemption to play in the popular PGA event.
Kim joins an impressive group of Haskins’ alumni that have won 28 Majors and more than 260 professional tournaments around the world. Ben Crenshaw of Texas and Phil Mickelson of Arizona are the only three-time winners on a list that includes Tiger Woods of Stanford, Matt Kuchar of Georgia Tech, Luke Donald of Northwestern and Graeme McDowell of UAB.
The award honors the late Fred Haskins, resident pro at the Country Club of Columbus, who shared the values and traditions of amateur golf with generations of young people in Saturday morning clinics that never cost more than a dime.
HASKINS AWARD WINNERS
Ben Crenshaw, Texas 1971-72-73
Curtis Strange Wake Forest 1974
Jay Haas, Wake Forest 1975
Phil Hancock, Florida 1976
Scott Simpson, Southern Cal, 1977
Lindy Miller, Oklahoma State 1978
Bobby Clampett, BYU 1979-80
Bob Tway, Oklahoma State 1981
Willie Wood, Oklahoma State 1982
Brad Faxon, Furman 1983
John Inman, North Carolina 1984
Sam Randolph, Southern Cal, 1985
Scott Verplank, Oklahoma State 1986
Billy Mayfair, Arizona State 1987
Bob Estes, Texas 1988
Robert Gamez, Arizona 1989
Phil Mickelson, Arizona State, 1990-91-92
David Duval, Georgia Tech 1993
Justin Leonard, Texas 1994
Stewart Cink, Georgia Tech 1995
Tiger Woods, Stanford 1996
Brad Elder Texas 1997
Matt Kuchar, Georgia Tech 1998
Luke Donald, Northwestern 1999
Charles Howell III, Oklahoma State 2000
Bryce Molder, Georgia Tech 2001
Graeme McDowell, UAB, 2002
Hunter Mahan, Oklahoma State 2003
Bill Haas, Wake Forest 2004
Ryan Moore, UNLV 2005
Pablo Martin, Oklahoma State 2006
Jamie Lovemark, Southern Cal 2007
Kevin Chappell, UCLA 2008
Matt Hill, N.C. State 2009
Russell Henley, Georgia 2010
Patrick Cantlay, UCLA 2011
Justin Thomas, Alabama 2012
Michael Kim, California 2013
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