Natalie Srinivasan of Furman was named winner of the 2020 Annika Award as the top women’s Division I college golfer during this season that was shortened by concerns over the Coronavirus pandemic.
Srinivasan, a senior from Spartanburg, S.C., about a 45-minute drive from the Furman campus, got the word first-hand from World Hall of Fame member Annika Sorenstam of Sweden in a phone call.
“Annika’s name, it’s her award and she’s the greatest player in women’s golf, ever,” said Srinivasan, who was named Player of the Year by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association last month. “It’s just an honor to be associated with that. All the other girls who have won have gone on to become awesome leaders and role models in this game.
“This is something I have only ever dreamed of receiving. This award means so much since it is voted on by my peers, and I am grateful to have this opportunity. I would like to thank my family, my teammates, and my coaches, especially my head coach, Jeff Hull. I would not be the player I am today with them.”
Srinivasan, the seventh first team All-American in the history of a Furman women’s program that also produced the likes of Betsy King, Beth Daniel and Dottie Pepper, won the Glass City Invitational and the Lady Paladin Invitational during the Fall Season and opened the Spring Season with a victory in the Moon Golf Invitational.
After finishing second in the Darius Rucker Invitational, her final event before the season was halted by Covid-19, Srinivasan was No. 1 in the Golfstat Women’s National Rankings.
At Dorman High in Spartanburg, Srinivasan captured the South Carolina 4A State Championship as a senior and led the Cavaliers to Region, Upperstate and State championships.
Srinivasan, who already has status on the Symetra Tour and plans to enter LPGA Tour Qualifying School, earned a spot in the Evian Championship, an LPGA major at Evian Resort Golf Club in Evian-les-Bains, France, in August by winning the Annika Award.
The other two finalists for the Annika Award who Srinivasan beat out are freshman Vivian Hou of Arizona and Taiwan and freshman Ingrid Lindblad of LSU and Sweden.
Previous winners of the Annika Award were Maria Fassi (2018, 2019) of Arkansas and Mexico; Leona Maguire (2015, 2017) of Duke and Ireland; Bronte Law (2016) of UCLA and England, and Alison Lee (2014) of UCLA and Valencia, Calif.
