This week, we are bringing the ANNIKA Award presented by 3M to Goshen, Kentucky for the third-annual Strategic Communications / Justin Thomas Junior Championship presented by Phocus. It will be hosted at Justin’s home course, Harmony Landing Country Club, with the first two rounds being played on Saturday, April 21 and the final round on Sunday, April 22.
The ANNIKA Award presented by 3M is an initiative that began in 2014 in partnership with the Fred Haskins Commission and is annually given to the best female collegiate golfer. The idea for the award came from a desire to create a female equivalent to the Fred Haskins Award presented by Stifel, which is annually given to the best male collegiate golfer. Justin won the award in 2012 while he was playing golf at the University of Alabama. As the NCAA regionals begin on Sunday for the girls, the race is on to see who this year’s ANNIKA Award winner will be. The recipient of the award is voted on by players, coaches and golf media as well as past winners. Voting will open after the regionals have ended, with the winner announced after the NCAA Championship.
Justin’s 54-hole stroke play event will feature 47 boys and 24 girls, including eight ANNIKA alumnae. Rachel Kuehn who finished second in this event last year, is one of the headliners. The Wake Forest verbal commit played in last year’s ANNIKA Invitational USA presented by Rolex and finished T46. Joining her is Anika Dy, who played in the ANNIKA Invitational USA this past January for the first time. Scheduled to graduate in 2019, Anika has verbally committed to the University of Michigan. Other ANNIKA alumnae teeing it up in Kentucky this weekend are Baili Park, Elizabeth Moon, Alyssa Montgomery, Lauren Miller, Auston Kim and Haylin Harris.
Follow along with us all weekend long on Instagram and Twitter for live updates from the event @annika_fdn.