World No. 1 amateur and 2016 Olympian tallied three wins in 2016-17 season
(ORLANDO, Fla.) – The ANNIKA Foundation – golf Hall-of-Famer Annika Sorenstam’s charitable organization – congratulates Duke junior Leona Maguire for winning the 2017 ANNIKA Award Presented by 3M.
This is the second time in three years that Maguire has been named the most outstanding NCAA Division I female golfer. The Duke junior and native of Cavan, Ireland also captured the ANNIKA Award in 2015.
Maguire, who finished T-21 at the 2016 Rio Olympics, was recognized for her outstanding season in a vote by fellow players, coaches and golf media. In 10 events, she recorded three wins (ACC Individual Championship, LSU Tiger Golf Classic and Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge) and finished no lower than T-6 in seven others.
She was named ACC Player of the Year for a second time and was integral to Duke finishing runner-up to top-ranked Stanford in the NCAA Regionals. Maguire also finished T-2 at the NCAA Championships. Deservingly, she ended the season ranked No. 1 in the Golfweek / Sagarin Women’s Amateur rankings.
Maguire was recognized Wednesday evening on Golf Channel during Golf Central. In addition to being officially honored at the 2017 ANNIKA Intercollegiate Presented by 3M, Sept. 30-Oct. 3 in Minneapolis, she receives an exemption into the 2017 Evian Championship, the LPGA’s fifth and final major, Sept. 14-17 in Evian, France.
“Annika is one of the greatest there is in women’s golf,” says Maguire, who plans to return to Duke for her senior season this fall. “To be associated with her in some way, big or small, is definitely something to be incredibly proud of. I’ve looked up to her since I was a little kid, watching her compete in the majors and the Solheim Cup. So, to be able to win an award that she has put her name to, and to have that association is a very special feeling.”
Maguire is the first two-time winner of the ANNIKA Award. Other past recipients are UCLA Bruins Alison Lee (2014) and Bronte Law (2016). Wake Forest sophomore Jennifer Kupcho and Stanford freshman Andrea Lee were the other finalists for the 2017 award.
The ANNIKA Award is an ANNIKA Foundation initiative managed with the help of Golfweek. Oversight is provided by the Fred Haskins Commission, a 501(c)(3) organization in Columbus, Ga., which for more than 45 years has given out the Haskins Award to the most outstanding male collegiate golfer.
“I really applaud Leona for her decision to stay in school,” adds Annika. “Her education is a priority and I admire her for that. Every journey to the LPGA Tour is very different, and we’re exceptionally proud to have her as our first two-time winner of the ANNIKA Award.”
Annika enjoyed an outstanding NCAA career at the University of Arizona. She won seven collegiate tournaments in 1991, including the NCAA Championship, and capped off an All-American season by being named the NCAA Co-Player of the Year. In 1992, she was Pac-10 champion and finished second in the NCAA Championship. She turned pro that same year.
Beyond the ANNIKA Award and ANNIKA Intercollegiate, the ANNIKA Foundation manages five junior tournaments – the ANNIKA Invitational USA in Orlando, Fla.; ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills in China; ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup in Sweden; and, in association with The R&A, the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America in Argentina.
For more information: www.annikasorenstam.com/foundation.
About the ANNIKA Foundation
Annika created the ANNIKA Foundation (www.annikasorenstam.com/foundation) to provide opportunities in women’s golf at the junior, collegiate and professional levels while teaching young people the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle through fitness and nutrition. The Foundation has partnered with key organizations to promote healthy, active lifestyles for children, including SPARK, Florida Hospital for Children in support of its Healthy 100 Kids initiative and The First Tee in development of the Nine Healthy Habits curriculum for children.
It annually conducts five major golf events for aspiring junior girls: the ANNIKA Invitational USA in Orlando, Fla.; ANNIKA Invitational at Mission Hills in China; ANNIKA Invitational Europe and ANNIKA Cup in Sweden; and, in association with The R&A, the ANNIKA Invitational Latin America in Argentina. In 2013, the Foundation’s reach extended to the collegiate ranks with the ANNIKA Award Presented by 3M (awarded to most outstanding female NCAA Division I golfer) and ANNIKA Intercollegiate Presented by 3M (12 team, 54-hole event in Minnesota). SPARK grants to schools, financial support of Healthy 100 Kids, endowing an AJGA ACE Grant, ANNIKA Junior Day and the “Share My Passion” Clinic in partnership with LPGA*USGA Girls Golf are other initiatives.
Contact:
Stephen Reynolds
Buffalo.Agency
703.344.6031
sreynolds@buffalo.agency
Buffalo.Agency
