In the blink of an eye, the 2023 college golf season has come and gone.
Although it was a tumultuous fall, that doesn’t mean there was any shortage of spectacular performances from teams and individuals trying to set themselves up for a run at the NCAA Championships come May at Omni La Costa in Carlsbad, California.
Now, how about a look into the future. Which teams are in position to hoist a championship trophy this spring? How about the individuals in the running for the major awards, the Haskins and Annika trophies?
Here are some predictions for the 2024 college golf season.
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Haskins winner: Christo Lamprecht, Georgia Tech
Over the course of the past six months, Christo Lamprecht has been one of the best amateurs in the world.
The senior at Georgia Tech won the Amateur Championship in Europe this summer, and he also learned low-am honors at the 151st British Open at Royal Liverpool. This fall, he has won twice, at the Ben Hogan Collegiate and the Fighting Illini Invitational, and has a pair of match-play wins at the East Lake Cup.
Last year, Georgia Tech made a run to the NCAA Championship match, falling against Florida and finishing runner-up. Lamprecht struggled that week in the desert, but since then, he has found his groove and played his best golf.
That will continue this spring, and he’ll hoist the Haskins Award at season’s end.
Annika winner: Ingrid Lindblad, LSU
This is far from a risky pick, as Lindblad has been one of the best college golfers during her career. A four-time All-American at LSU, Lindblad is in position to win her first Annika Award this spring, and she got off to a great start this fall.
She captured victories at the Cougar Classic and Illini Women’s Invitational. She also finished fifth in her only other start this fall at the Mason Rudolph Championship.
She’s up to 13 wins in her college career, a remarkable number considering the competition she faces week in and week out. Come this spring, expect that number to go up and for Lindblad to add yet another bullet point to her resume.
Men's NCAA championship winner: North Carolina
In the fall, North Carolina, Auburn and Vanderbilt established themselves as the teams to beat this spring. While there is plenty of golf left to be played and other strong teams in the country, not seeing these three in match play at the NCAA Championship would be a surprise.
However, the Tar Heels look poised to finish the job this season. In May, North Carolina won the stroke-play portion of NCAAs before falling to Georgia Tech in the semis. In the offseason, they got transfer Maxwell Ford, brother of All-American David Ford, to bolster the lineup that also includes Austin Greaser and Dylan Menante.
The Tar Heels have a lineup built for stroke- and match-play competition, something required to win a national championship. That’s why North Carolina is going to win the title this spring.
Women's NCAA championship winner: Stanford
Defending national champion Wake Forest has reloaded its lineup and looks well capable of going back-to-back.
However, there’s a reason Stanford has finished as the No. 1 team heading to match play the past three years at NCAAs: incredible consistency.
Even after the departure of Rose Zhang, the Cardinal have been bolstered with great play from freshman Paula Martin Sampedro, as well as Megha Ganne, Kelly Xu and Sadie Englemann. Although she has played only two events, Rachel Heck is a former NCAA individual champion and Annika Award winner, too.
Stanford’s depth shows, and its consistency is a big reason why the Cardinal have made their mark at NCAAs in recent years. Don’t expect that to change this spring.
