NMJC's Lefèvre named recipient of 2023 Jack Nicklaus Award
Matthis Lefèvre of New Mexico Junior College, Ludvig Åberg of Texas Tech, Charles DeLong of Grand Valley State, Alex Price of Christopher Newport, Easton Johnson of The Master's have been named the 2023 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.
"I have been incredibly proud to have my name associated with this prestigious award since 1988, and to help the Golf Coaches Association of America celebrate the finest players in the college game," Jack Nicklaus said. "We are also honored that Workday has joined our mission to honor these players and put an emphasis on developing the next generation of great talent."
"If you look at the résumés of these five players, they have consistently excelled at the highest level this season and have proudly represented their schools."
Division I: Åberg, who clinched the No. 1 spot in the final PGA TOUR University rankings, finished in the top eight in nine tournaments this season and won four times, including his second-straight Big 12 Championship and the 2023 NCAA Norman Regional. The senior from Eslov, Sweden is Texas Tech's all-time leader in career wins (eight) and became just the second golfer to win the Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank multiple times, joining current World No. 1 and former Nicklaus Award recipient Jon Rahm. Åberg will earn PGA TOUR membership in 2023 and 2024 and be eligible to make his pro debut at the RBC Canadian Open (June 8-11).
Division II: DeLong won a program-record seven tournaments this season en route to PING First-Team All-America, PING All-Midwest Region, and his second consecutive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Player of the Year honors. The redshirt sophomore from DeWitt, Mich., who is also the program's all-time leader in individual wins (13), led NCAA Division II in adjusted scoring average (69.70) and recorded 30 rounds of par or better and 16 rounds in the 60s for Grand Valley State.
Division III: Price carded eight top-five finishes in nine tournaments this season with three wins and two runner-up finishes, including T2 at the 2023 NCAA Division III National Championship. In the season's 26 rounds, the senior from Hillsboro, Va., was at par or better in 21 of them. Price became the first golfer in Christopher Newport history to be named All-American four times and to the first team twice while topping his own single-season school record for lowest scoring average by almost three strokes (69.96).
NAIA: Johnson finished in the top 11 in all 11 tournaments this season and won the 2023 NAIA Men's Golf Individual National Championship in the second playoff hole for his first collegiate victory. The freshman from Kansas City, Mo., earned the 2023 NAIA Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award presented by StrackaLine and PING First-Team All-America, PING All-West Region, First-Team All-Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC), and GSAC Freshman of the Year honors.
NJCAA: Lefèvre, the top-ranked player in NJCAA Division I, finished no worse than ninth in all 12 tournaments this season, winning four times. The sophomore from Hossegor, France, who owns the program record for career wins (nine), carded 16 rounds in the 60s en route to PING First-Team All-America, PING All-South Central District, and Western Junior College Athletic Conference (WJCAC) Player of the Year honors. Lefèvre will continue his collegiate golf career at TCU next season.
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
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
Eugune 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 Divison I
Jarin Todd, Sonoma State Divison 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)
Barry (3)
California (1)
Central Alabama (1)
Centre College (1)
Chico State (1)
Christopher Newport (1)
Claremont McKenna (2)
Clemson (1)
Coastal Georgia (1)
Dalton State (4)
Delta State (1)
Eastern Florida State (2)
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 (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)
Northwestern (1)
Nova Southeastern (2)
Odessa College (1)
Oglethorpe (2)
Oklahoma (1)
Oklahoma Christian (1)
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)
Webster (1)
West Florida (1)
Wisconsin-Eau Claire (1)