Lindblad took home her 11th collegiate win at the Clemson Invitational.
Editor’s Note: The following is an official press release courtesy of LSU’s athletics department.
BATON ROUGE – LSU senior Ingrid Lindblad was named Southeastern Conference Golfer of the Week after her record adding 11th collegiate win on Sunday at the Clemson Invitational.
Lindblad was a part of a four-way title tie at the tournament at The Reserve at Lake Keowee in Sunset, South Carolina. She fired a three-round total of 5-under par 211 with rounds of 75-67-69.
It was her second consecutive year to win or share medalist honors at the Clemson Invitational. It was her second time to win in the 2022-23 season and has had six top 10 finishes in seven college events this season.
As a team, Lindblad helped the Tigers to a runner-up finish at Clemson at 7-under par for the 54 holes.
Lindblad is averaging 70.24 for 21 rounds with 12 of the 21 rounds at par or under.
Check out who’s in the running for women’s college golfer of the year.
With every passing week, the women’s college golf season creeps closer to the NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The ANNIKA Award announced Thursday its first spring watch list, featuring 15 of the best women’s college golfers this season. Rose Zhang, who captured the award as a freshman last season, is again having a stellar sophomore campaign, but there are plenty of others who are trying to claim the crown.
The ANNIKA Award honors the player of the year in college women’s golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media. The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the ANNIKA Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel reporters.
Check out who’s in the running for women’s college golfer of the year.
As the fall season winds to a close, it’s time to recognize players who set themselves apart as frontrunners in women’s college golf over the past two and a half months.
Rose Zhang, who won the award as a freshman at Stanford last season, is off to an excellent start this year, but plenty of others are making their case early, like Andrea Lignell at Ole Miss, among many others.
The ANNIKA Award honors the player of the year in college women’s golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media. The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the ANNIKA Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel reporters.
It was too little, too late for the United States.
Sweden won the Espirito Santo Trophy for the third time on a tiebreaker over the hard-charging U.S. at the 29th Women’s World Amateur Team Championship at Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche in Paris, France, on Saturday.
The Swedes and Americans tied at 13-under 559 after four rounds of stroke play. After comparing non-counting scores, a 1-over-par 73 from Sweden’s Louise Rydqvist, a sophomore at South Carolina, was one stroke better than Wake Forest senior Rachel Kuehn’s 74, giving Sweden the gold medal and the USA the silver. Germany and Japan tied for the bronze-medal position one stroke behind.
The Women’s World Amateur Team Championship is four rounds of stroke play with the two lowest individual scores from each team counting every day.
Ingrid Lindblad, No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, fired a 3-under 69 in the final round, and Meja Ortengren added a 2-under 70, as Sweden made up five strokes on Germany, who held the 54-hole.
“Yesterday we were on our way to good scores (at Le Golf National), and we lost everything in the end,” said Sweden’s head of delegation Fredrik Wetterstrand. “Today, everything went our way, our scores and the other team’s scores. I admit it was a little lucky today. Our team played really well. They were fighting hard on the course, and they did it together”
It’s Sweden’s first medal since capturing bronze in 2012. For the United States, it’s the 21st medal, which includes 14 golds, four silvers and three bronze.
The U.S. began the day four strokes behind Germany and battled its way to a one-stroke lead on the tee of the 72nd hole after a birdie on the 17th by world No. 1 Rose Zhang.
Rose Zhang is a three-time winner of the Mark H. McCormack Medal, which was presented at the closing ceremony at the 2022 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Paris, France. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)
Zhang, a sophomore at Stanford and the defending NCAA individual champion, missed the green with her approach on 18 and could not convert a par-saving putt that brought on the tiebreaker. She finished with a 3-under 69 and Stanford and USA Curtis Cup teammate Rachel Heck shot 70.
“There is obviously that tinge of disappointment,” Zhang said. “On that last putt, I actually hit a really good putt exactly where I wanted, but it just didn’t go in the hole. It was disappointing to end that way, but I am really proud of how we fought back on the last day.
Sweden receives custody of the Espirito Santo Trophy until the next World Amateur Team Championship in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in October 2023. Members of the winning team receive gold medals, second place silver and third place bronze.
Left to right: United States, Sweden, Germany and Japan following the final round at the 2022 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in Paris, France. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)
Although there is no official recognition, Sweden’s Ortengren, Germany’s Helen Briem and the USA’s Zhang tied for the low individual score at 7-under 279.
It’s been exactly a year since NIL legislation was enacted, and the ramifications have been sweeping in college golf.
It’s been just over one year since name, image and likeness legislation was enacted, giving college athletes the chance to engage in activities, including endorsement deals, leveraging social media for pay, and getting compensated for coaching, making personal appearances and signing autographs.
And the ramifications have been sweeping, perhaps the greatest throughout major revenue sports like football and basketball, but in college golf, as well.
USA Today’s Paul Myerberg wrote at length on the subject in a piece that debuted on Friday, noting that college athletics will be ultimately defined before and after the landmark. From his story:
A revolution has ensued.
What was expected to bring irreversible change to the long-standing amateur model has done exactly that and then some, shaking up the landscape to such an extreme degree that a timeline can be separated into the two distinct eras of before and after NIL.
With one year under our belts, let’s take a look at NIL, what’s worked and what hasn’t, and what it all means for the world of college golf.
Ingrid Lindblad, of Sweden, watches her ball off the sixth tee during the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament at the Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C. on Thursday, June 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
What’s gone wrong with NIL?
The NCAA has done little to govern the policy, giving the air of what Myerberg called “a Wild West-like atmosphere where NIL offerings have the potential to supersede more traditional selling points such as recent success and facilities.”
According to the story, third-party groups driven by donors have stepped into this power vacuum to amass large pools of money earmarked for NIL opportunities. Existing outside the watchful eyes of university compliance departments, these collectives have drawn attention for rubbing against the baseline principle that no NIL deal can include compensation for athletic performance.
“I don’t think anybody anticipated this concept around collectives. That’s where probably, at least among people I’m talking with, there’s concern over how they may or may not be operating,” said Jon Steinbrecher, the commissioner of the Mid-American Conference.
Current NIL rules have also left behind foreign student-athletes in the United States on an F1 visa, which allows for immigration as a full-time student but prohibits off-campus employment for all but specific situations.
That presented a peculiar situation during the year’s U.S. Women’s Open, when Ingrid Lindblad, the No. 2 amateur in the world, trailed by just one stroke after the opening round. While other collegians like Rose Zhang were decked out in NIL-issued gear during the event, Lindblad wore a Swedish national team polo and didn’t wear a hat on in her opening 6-under 65, the lowest round by an amateur in the history of the championship.
Golfweek’s Beth Ann Nichols explained that international student-athletes are restricted when it comes to NIL deals based on student visas. As the rules now stand, LSU coach Garrett Runion said Lindblad wasn’t allowed to earn money through NIL, though the school is doing everything they can to try to open up that possibility. International students risk losing their immigration status by taking NIL money.
Lindblad, a nine-time winner at LSU, played alongside the greatest player in the modern era, Annika Sorenstam, who was making her first LPGA major start in 14 years. It’s not unheard of for players without logos to pick up one overnight in a major championship when in the spotlight. Lindblad didn’t have that opportunity, even though she was still in contention until the final round, finishing in a tie for 11th place.
This week’s purse of $10 million was the largest in women’s golf history. The winner earns $1.8 million. If Lindblad had turned pro coming into that week, she could’ve cashed in big.
When asked if she had any regrets, the LSU junior said, “When you say it, yeah … it would have been fun to win a little bit of money, but I think I’m going to stay in college for a little bit more.”
Only one amateur ever won the championship, Catherine Lacoste in 1967.
USA team members Rachel Heck, left, and Rose Zhang smile during a practice round at the 2022 Curtis Cup at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa. on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. (Chris Keane/USGA)
What’s gone right with NIL?
While some like Lindblad have been forced into an unfortunate loophole, Myerberg says that “the biggest impact of NIL is seen in the large deals signed by female athletes in non-revenue-generating sports; more so than any legislation this side of Title IX, NIL has created enormous gender equality where none previously existed.”
“What really doesn’t get covered is the female swimmer or female softball player that could never monetize their NIL, never monetize themselves, for the first time being able to profit,” said Max Forer, an attorney at Miller Nash and former Oregon offensive lineman.
According to the NIL company Opendorse, women’s basketball players have accounted for 15.7% of overall compensation paid out to all athletes. Athletes in women’s sports make up five of the top nine sports in overall NIL activity, according to a tracking of transactions conducted by Opendorse.
NIL has given athletics departments the opportunity to educate athletes on topics previously unaddressed in the college space. Athletes are learning about financial literacy, entrepreneurship and brand-building, Steinbrecher said.
“Or communication skills. To learn a little bit about the law, about contracts, about public relations, or media relations or social relations. Take your pick.”
And while college women’s golfers do have the ability to make money at the professional level, the additional revenue has helped to keep some of the top talent in college.
Zhang, the No. 1-ranked amateur in the world and Golfweek’s top college golfer, joined Heck, the 2021 College Player of the Year, who signed with Excel last fall and counts Ping and Stifel among her growing number of partnerships.
Other examples, although perhaps not as shining, include the announcement that John Daly II had signed an NIL deal with Hooters. At the time, the son of two-time major champ John Daly had played just one college team tournament. And former NBA star J.R. Smith signed an NIL deal with Lululemon, a popular activewear brand. Smith became Lululemon’s first male golf ambassador. Smith is not able to wear Lululemon at NCAA-sanctioned events, but he can wear Lululemon in the company’s branded advertisements.
John Daly II and dad John Daly during the second round of the 2021 PNC Championship on Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021, in Orlando. (AP Photo/Scott Audette)
What’s next for NIL?
It will be interesting to see, Myerberg said, how companies handle NIL deals after gathering some data. Will they continue to sponsor secondary sports like golf, or will the focus turn solely on football and men’s basketball?
The ability for female athletes to gain traction in the NIL market, Myerberg explained, could lead to increased investments in women’s programs as universities see third-party interest.
“It does indicate the latent potential there,” said Tom McMillen, the president and CEO of LEAD1, an association representing the athletics directors and programs in the Football Bowl Subdivision. “The fact that women can go into this publicity rights market and do so well is a very good signal for the future. It can only mean that women’s sports are going to be more popular, and women are going to continue to be able to benefit off the monetization of their publicity rights. But it’s not going to happen overnight.
“What seems inevitable is NIL trickling down to high school athletes and athletics.”
Already, a total of 10 states allow high school athletes to profit off NIL. This evolution of NIL is the next great unknown in college — and perhaps all amateur — athletics.
“After this first year of people kind of getting their feet wet with it, trying to better understand it, I think over the next couple of years we’ll really see what the impact is moving forward,” said David Kmiecik, a senior recruiting manager for Next College Student Athlete, which provides guidance and support to prospective athletes and their families. “It is constantly changing and it’s constantly evolving. It’s going to be constantly evolving.”
Why doesn’t Ingrid Lindblad have any NIL deals while Rose Zhang and Rachel Heck do?
SOUTHERN PINES, North Carolina – Rose Zhang might be the No. 1 amateur in the world, but she looks the part of a full-fledged pro this week in ways beyond her talent. Zhang’s impressive collection of logos through NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals rivals those sponsorships of players who already have tour cards. Just this week, Zhang became the first student-athlete to ink an NIL deal with Adidas.
Like Zhang, Stanford’s Rachel Heck also boasts an impressive portfolio of partners and deals that are believed to be more than six figures annually.
International student-athletes are restricted when it comes to NIL deals based on their student visas. As the rules now stand, LSU coach Garrett Runion said Lindblad isn’t allowed to earn money through NIL, though the school is doing everything they can to try to open up that possibility. International students risk losing their immigration status by taking NIL money.
Lindblad, a nine-time winner at LSU, will get plenty of air-time in Friday’s television window, not only because she’s in contention at a major, but because she’s also playing alongside the greatest player in the modern era, Annika Sorenstam, who at 51 is trying to make the cut in her first LPGA major start in 14 years.
Ingrid Lindblad, of Sweden, lines up a putt on the 11th green during the first round of the U.S. Women’s Open golf tournament at the Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C. on Thursday, June 2, 2022. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
It’s not unheard of for players without logos to pick up one overnight in a major championship when in the spotlight. Lindblad won’t have that opportunity this week.
This week’s purse of $10 million is the largest in women’s golf history. The winner earns $1.8 million. If Lindblad had turned pro coming into this week, she could’ve cashed in big.
When asked if she had any regrets, the LSU junior said, “When you say it, yeah, it’s … it would have been fun to win a little bit of money, but I think I’m going to stay in college for a little bit more.”
Only one amateur has ever won this championship, Catherine Lacoste in 1967.
Lindblad was Runion’s first recruit at LSU. When she came on campus for a visit, she was ranked 200th in the world. Runion told her to make the No. 1 sign with her index finger.
“You’re going to be the No. 1 amateur and my first recruit,” he said, taking pictures of her around campus holding up No. 1.
Lindblad has worked hard in the shadows of Zhang of late, but that bright light could shift in a major way this week. She’ll just have to wait longer for the payday.
Ingrid Lindblad’s 6-under 65 is the championship’s lowest 18-hole score by an amateur.
SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. – Amateur Ingrid Lindblad first met Annika Sorenstam eight years ago when she competed in the ANNIKA Invitational Europe. The next year, the young Swede played in the ANNIKA Cup. Fast forward to 2022, and a 22-year-old Lindblad got the shock of her life when she was paired with Sorenstam for the first two rounds of the 77th U.S. Women’s Open. Lindblad was 8 years old when Annika retired from the LPGA.
“Then, on the first tee box,” Lindblad said, “I get her scorecard. I’m like, I have Annika’s scorecard in my hands.”
While many would’ve been overwhelmed completing alongside a 10-time major winner, on a course where Sorenstam won her second of three U.S. Women’s Open titles 26 years ago, Lindblad played the best golf of her life.
Her history-making 6-under 65 at Pine Needles is the championship’s lowest 18-hole score by an amateur. Three amateurs have posted 66: Carol Semple Thompson (1994), Brittany Lincicome (2004) and Gina Kim (2019).
Last year, then 17-year-old amateur Megha Ganne co-led after the first round with Mel Reid after firing a 67 at The Olympic Club. Only one amateur has won this championship, Catherine Lacoste, in 1967. Lindblad first learned of that stat earlier this week at an amateur dinner.
It’s not lost on her that the record-setting $10 million purse includes $1.8 million to the winner. (Lindblad can’t receive any prize money this week because of her amateur status.)
When asked if there were any regrets that she didn’t turn pro this week, she smiled and said, “When you say it, yeah, it’s … it would have been fun to win a little bit of money, but I think I’m going to stay in college for a little bit more.”
Annika Sorenstam, left, congratulates Ingrid Lindblad on the eighth hole after they completed their first round at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by ProMedica at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C. on Thursday, June 2, 2022. (Jeff Haynes/USGA)
The LSU junior is ranked No. 2 in the world behind Rose Zhang and has largely toiled in the American’s shadow. Even so, Lindblad has won nine times at LSU including this year’s SEC Championship, where she drained a 38-foot eagle putt on the final hole to clinch the title. She’s the 2021 European Ladies Amateur champion and finished in the top 3 of both the NCAA Championship and Augusta National Women’s Amateur this year, closing with a 4-under 68 at Augusta National.
“It was nice to walk with her, but she was fearless,” said Sorenstam, who opened with a 3-over 74. “It’s fun to watch.”
In addition to Sorenstam, Lindblad had another Swedish champion on her bag in Solheim Cup veteran Sophie Gustafson, who won five times on the LPGA. Lindblad said she didn’t have a caddie for the week and the Swedish national coach introduced the pair.
“I think I looked at her Instagram,” said Lindblad, “but I was like, ‘Whoa, she’s won a couple times on tour.’ ”
Ingrid Lindblad and her caddie Sophie Gustafson discuss strategy on the 12th hole during the first round at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open Presented by ProMedica at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C. on Thursday, June 2, 2022. (Darren Carroll/USGA)
A couple of major champions – Minjee Lee and Anna Nordqvist – trail Lindblad, one of 29 amateurs in the field, by two strokes after the first round. Lexi Thompson, who suffered great heartbreak at this championship last year after a late-round collapse at Olympic, opened with a 68.
Sorenstam, playing in her first LPGA major since 2008, described young Lindblad as quite bubbly. When Lindblad won the ANNIKA Invitational in 2019 in St. Augustine, Florida, she was flying out of Orlando but didn’t have a ride. Sorenstam offered to give her one, and mostly listened to the outgoing teen.
“I think people see her as a long hitter, but I’m sure you saw her today,” said Sorenstam, “some of those chip shots she hit, especially here on 18, that was not an easy one.
“She just kind of stood there, really good touch, and she putted beautifully today, good speed. Everything was really – I was really impressed.”
When not working on her world-class game or studying, Lindblad likes to work on puzzles of at least 1,000 pieces and watch TV. Friends in the U.S. call her “Iggy,” though she’s not really sure why.
Can an amateur win this again?
“Yeah, it’s possible,” said Lindblad rather convincingly.
LSU coach Garrett Runion notes that his star player likes bigger crowds, bigger stages and the rush that follows. No European has won this championship since Sorenstam captured her third Women’s Open title in 2006.
“We’re still in the first quarter,” said Runion, “but I know she’ll give it a shot.”
With the championship field set, the race for the ANNIKA Award is starting to heat up. A handful of players have made their case throughout the season as front-runners for the ANNIKA Award, which honors the player of the year in women’s college golf, as selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media.
The players are listed alphabetically. Players on the ANNIKA Award Watch List were selected by a panel of Golfweek and Golf Channel writers.
The Tigers are off to NCAA Regionals on a good run of form.
Latanna Stone still can’t get over the response. Just recently the LSU junior received two letters in the mail from admirers who appreciated how she handled a tough loss at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur. Even that night after the round, a surprise direct message from Maria Fassi on social media had her in shock.
Fassi, of course, is one of the few people in the world who could relate, having finished runner-up at the inaugural event to Jennifer Kupcho.
“It was really almost calming to hear,” said Stone. Fassi said she wanted to crawl through the TV to give Stone a hug.
As Stone says, it was “just two holes.” But those two holes – a double-bogey on the 17th and a bogey on the 18th at Augusta National – lost Stone what many consider to be the most coveted prize in amateur golf.
Even so, Stone said she was more nervous competing in the SEC Championship last weekend than she was the back nine at Augusta National.
“I don’t know, it just felt way more important,” said Stone. “I could let everyone down if I don’t win this match.”
The power of a team.
Stone birdied her last three holes to seal LSU’s first SEC title in 30 years at Greystone Country Club’s Legacy Club, where the Tigers beat Florida, 4-1.
LSU after winning the 2022 SEC Championship. (Photo by: Andrew Wevers)
Ingrid Lindblad, a junior from Sweden who finished second at the ANWA for a second straight year earlier this month, trounced Annabell Fuller, 6 and 5, in the championship match.
Lindblad keeps looking back at pictures and videos from SECs with a “wow, we did that” reaction. She feels the same way when she looks back at the birdie she made on the 14th at Augusta on Saturday followed by eagle on the 15th.
This year’s runner-up finish at the ANWA wasn’t as tough to swallow, she said, given that she closed with a 4-under 68 to climb up the leaderboard.
LSU’s Ingrid Lindblad during the 2022 SEC Championship. (Photo: Andrew Wevers)
Anna Davis was the surprise winner at Augusta, a 16-year-old high school sophomore who recently earned a sponsor invite into next week’s new LPGA event at Palos Verdes. While Davis prepares for her LPGA debut, Lindblad and Stone are busy preparing for NCAA regional action.
“I think we’ve just got to take one step at a time,” said Lindblad, “not get too far ahead of ourselves.”
Stone hopes the team has a crawfish boil sometime soon to celebrate SECs.
Is she over the heartbreak at Augusta?
“I’m still like shoot,” said Stone. “But at the same time, you kind of have to move on, and what’s done is done.”
The LSU women have been one of the most impressive teams in college golf all year long, and they once again proved they have what it takes to make a run at next month’s NCAA Championship.
After losing in the semifinals in 2021, the Tigers won their first SEC Championship in 30 years after defeating Vanderbilt (4-1), Alabama (3.5-1.5) and Florida (4-1) in match play at Greystone Country Club’s Legacy Club in Birmingham, Alabama.
“Obviously it was an unbelievable week,” said head coach Garrett Runion. “When I think about this week, I really think about all the players before. The SEC has a slogan, ‘It Just Means More.’ It really does, so it makes me think about all the players before that helped us get to this point. We had a lot of former players calling and texting and coming out here. It was a great week that they will never forget. I certainly won’t.”
