Natalie Srinivasan of Furman claimed the inaugural Juli Inkster Award presented by Workday as the best Division I women’s senior college golfer in the nation.
The award is named for Inkster, who was born in Santa Cruz, lives in Los Altos Hills, was an All-American at San Jose State, claimed four major championships among her 44 professional victories, was captain of victorious United States team in the Solheim Cup in 2015 and 2017, and was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2000.
Srinivasan, from Spartanburg, S.C., also captured the Annika Award, presented to the best women’s college player in the season for the 2019-20 season.
“It is such an honor to win the inaugural Juli Inkster Senior Award presented by Workday,” Srinivasan said. “Juli has been such an amazing role model for women’s golfers, and I am so grateful to have my name alongside hers.
“I would like to thank my team, my family, and my coach, Jeff Hull, for all they have done for me over the last four years. Their continued support has been invaluable, and I can’t thank them enough.”
Said Hull: “She works on the parts of her game that she needs to work on. She always has a plan for practice and for tournaments. She plays like a professional.”
The seventh first team All-American in the history of a Furman women’s program, Srinivasan 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, finishing with five victories in her college career.
After finishing second in the Darius Rucker Invitational, her final event before the season was halted by Coronavirus pandemic, 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 has Symetra Tour status lined up for the rest of the season and the Inkster Award comes with an exemption into the Cambia Portland Classic on the LPGA Tour, scheduled for Sept. 17-20.
In addition, she will also have the opportunity to spend time with Inkster during a two-day mentorship retreat.
Srinivasan is the latest in a long line of great players from Furman, including Betsy King, Beth Daniel and Dottie Pepper.
The Juli Inkster Senior Award also was presented to Kiira Riihijarvi of Tampa on the Division II level, while Alyssa Akiyama of Carleton won the Division III award.
