[Photo. Tim Cowie]

Leona Maguire is the 2017 winner of the ANNIKA Award, which honours the most outstanding female Division I collegiate golfer as voted on by her peers, coaches and golf media.

“This award is a huge honour for me and to win it for the second time is a very special feeling,” said Maguire. “To win an award that Annika has put her name to and that is voted on by my fellow coaches, competitors and the media. It is a very unique award and something I am very, very proud to get the opportunity to win the award again.”

Maguire collected the second-lowest stroke average in NCAA history this past season with a 70.29 ledger.  It was the lowest since Lorena Ochoa collected a 70.13 stroke average in the 2002 campaign.  Maguire broke her own Duke and ACC record from her freshman campaign of 70.78.

Maguire won the award for the second time in three years as she was also voted in 2015 as a freshman.  She became the first two-time winner of the award.  Maguire also earned the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA) National Player of the Year, WGCA First Team All-America and won the GolfStat Award in 2016-17 for her outstanding season.

“Annika is one of the greatest there is in women’s golf,” continued Maguire. “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 growing up 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.”

With winning the ANNIKA Award, Maguire will now compete in the 2017 Evian Championship, the LPGA’s fifth and final major, Sept. 14-17 at the Evian Resort Golf Club in Évian-les-Bains, France.”