Jenny Bae from the University of Georgia, Louisiana State University’s Ingrid Lindblad, Julia Lopez Ramirez from Mississipi State University and Stanford University’s Rose Zhang are the four finalists for the Class of 2023 Honda Sport Award for Golf as announced by Chris Voelz, Executive Director of THE Collegiate Women Sports Awards (CWSA) today.
The Honda Sport Award has been presented annually by the CWSA for the past 47 years to the top women athletes in 12 NCAA- sanctioned sports and signifies “the best of the best in collegiate athletics”. The winner of the sport award becomes a finalist for the Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year and the prestigious 2023 Honda Cup which will be presented during the live telecast of the Collegiate Women Sports Awards Presented by Honda on CBS Sports Network on June 26, at 8:30 ET/5:30 PT.
The golf finalists were selected by a panel of coaches and experts from the Women’s Golf Coaches Association (WGCA). The Honda Sport award winner for golf will be announced later this week after voting by administrators from over 1,000 NCAA member schools. Each NCAA member institution has a vote.
Bae, a fifth year senior from Suwanee, Ga., was a 2023 ANNIKA Award Finalist and a WGCA First Team All-American. She posted a school record for season scoring average and had a final ranking of 4th in GolfStat with an adjusted scoring average of 70.52. Bae finished in the top five in eight of 11 events this season and was tied for the individual lead at the 2023 Augusta National Women’s Amateur before losing in a sudden-death playoff.
Lindblad is a two-time Honda Award finalist for golf (2023, 2022). The senior hailing from Halmstad, Sweden, is a four-time ANNIKA Award Finalist and a four-time WGCA First Team All-American. She is the first golfer in program history to earn First Team honors four straight years. She finished the season ranked second in GolfStat with a 70.31 adjusted scoring average.
Lopez Ramirez is a sophomore from Malaga, Spain, and was a 2023 ANNIKA Award Finalist and the 2023 SEC Golfer of the Year. She captured the 2023 SEC Championship title and the NCAA Westfield Regional and finished the regular season with the lowest scoring average in program history at 70.31. She became the first Bulldog to earn the SEC Individual title.
Zhang, a sophomore from Irvine, Calif., was the Class of 2022 Honda Award Winner for Golf and is a two-time WGCA Player of the Year and ANNIKA Award winner. She became the first back-to-back NCAA Individual National Champion in golf and captured the GolfState Cup for best scoring average with a final adjusted scoring average of 68.77.
The CWSA, entering its 47th year, has honored the nation’s top NCAA women athletes for their superior athletic skills, leadership, academic excellence and eagerness to participate in community service. Since commencing its partnership in 1986, Honda has provided more than $3.4 million in institutional grants to the universities of the award winners and nominees to support women’s athletics programs.
About Honda Corporate Social Responsibility
For more than 60 years in the U.S., Honda has been committed to making positive contributions to the communities where its associates live and work. Honda’s mission is to create products and services that improve the lives of people while conducting its business in a sustainable manner and fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Accordingly, Honda believes in helping people reach their life’s potential through its focus on the areas of education, the environment, mobility, traffic safety and community. Learn more at http://csr.honda.com/.