Jonathan McEwen ’27 Earns Jack Nicklaus Award as the Division III Golfer of the Year for the Second Straight Year

Athletics Communications
June 8, 2026

Washington and Lee University's Jonathan McEwen '27 was named the 2026 recipient of the NCAA Division III Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday, as announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) at a special press conference on Sunday, June 7, at the 50th anniversary of Nicklaus' annual Memorial Tournament at the Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.

The Jack Nicklaus Award honors the top men's golfer at every level of collegiate golf, including NCAA Divisions I, II and III, as well as the NAIA and NJCAA. McEwen joins Jackson Koivun (Auburn University, Division I), Max Barile (Florida Southern College, Division II), Iver Sokhan-Sanj (Keiser University, NAIA) and Abe Bignell (McLennan Community College, NJCAA) as 2026 recipients of the award.

McEwen also claimed the prestigious award in 2025, becoming just the 11th golfer to win the honor more than once in the award's 38-year history. He joins Bryce Molder (Georgia Tech, 1998, 2001), Phil Mickelson (Arizona State, 1990-92), Jarin Todd (Sonoma State, 2007-08), Sam Cyr (Point Loma Nazarene, 2008-09), Alex Carpenter (Abilene Christian, 2011-12), Kerry Sweeny (Eastern Florida State, 2015-16), S.M. Lee (Dalton State, 2017-18), Callum Bruce (Midland, 2018-19) and Jackson Koivun (Auburn, 2024, 2026) on the distinguished list. He also became the second golfer in Division III history to win in back-to-back seasons, joining Hope College's Josh Gibson who won the award in 2018 and 2019.

The honor marks McEwen's third consecutive national award. He was named the Division III recipient of the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman of the Year Award in 2024 and earned his first Jack Nicklaus Award in 2025.

In nine tournaments this season, McEwen posted a 68.3 adjusted scoring average across 28 rounds. He recorded three victories and finished among the top five in eight events. He carded 12 rounds in the 60s with 22 rounds of par or better while contributing a counting score in all 28 rounds for the blue and white. His victories came at the Gate City Invitational, the Savannah Invitational and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship, where he successfully defended his conference title.

At the NCAA Division III Championship, McEwen finished as the national runner-up after shooting 9-under par (278) over four rounds, breaking his own program record for a 72-hole score. He totaled 16 birdies and 50 pars during the championship and led the 225-player field in par-3 scoring at 5-under par.

This year, McEwen added more awards to his resume as he was named a PING First Team All-American and All-Region selection, First Team All-ODAC, ODAC/Virgina Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year, ODAC Individual Champion and was named to the 2026 Ben Hogan Award Watch List this season. In addition, McEwen became the fourth Division III player to be selected to compete in the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup in West Barrow, Ireland, at the Tralee Golf Links on July 3-5.

McEwen etched his name in the program's record books, setting or resetting nine records while shooting 22 rounds of par or better throughout the year.

The Jack Nicklaus Award, established in 1988, is one of the highest individual honors in collegiate golf. It was created to recognize the best collegiate golfer in each division and is presented annually at Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament press conference. Read the full GCAA release for more information.

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