By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University senior golf star Andrew Beckler has been named the 2021 Division II Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year.
Beckler, a Washburn Rural graduate, was announced as the player of the year Sunday morning during The Memorial Tournament at Dublin, Ohio.
Washburn senior golf standout Andrew Beckler has been named the winner of the Division II Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Beckler capped off his collegiate career by earning the highest individual honor in college golf, which was announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
The award, given annually to the nation's top collegiate golfer across Divisions I, II and III, plus the NAIA and NJCAA, is one of college golf's most esteemed honors.
Andrew Beckler
Prior to Beckler, Washburn had never had a finalist for the Nicklaus Award, nor had there ever been a golfer from the MIAA or NCAA Division II Central Region to win it.
The award was first given out to only Division I golfers from 1988-2002 until Divisions II and III were added in 2003. Many notable golfers have won the award, including Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, and Justin Thomas.
"If you look at the records of these recipients, each one put together dominating seasons and are very deserving of this honor," Jack Nicklaus said.
The 2021 MIAA Player of the Year turned in a record season for the Ichabods this spring as he claimed five individual titles in 10 competitions and placed in the top-three at the other five events. He lost to just seven total golfers the entire season.
At the NCAA Golf National Championships, he recorded the highest individual finish in program history as he tied for second place out of 84 total golfers.
Beckler, a former Class 6A individual and team champion for Washburn Rural, finished his career with Washburn's best scoring average with a 72.00 in 67 rounds played and he holds the best season scoring average (70.4).
Beckler joined the team in 2018 after beginning his college career at Kansas State and was named to the all-MIAA team twice and received the conference Men's Golf Athlete of the Week award three times this season.
Off the course, Beckler also excelled in the classroom as he earned a place on the MIAA Academic Roll three times and was an MIAA Scholar Athlete twice.
2021 JACK NICKLAUS AWARD WINNERS
Division I -- John Pak, Florida State.
Division II -- Andrew Beckler, Washburn.
Division III -- James Mishoe, Guilford.
NAIA -- Ruan Pretorius, Point.
NJCAA -- Ben Partridge, Hutchinson Community College.
