Five golfers were named finalists for the 2026 NCAA Division II Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced.

The finalists are Max Barile of Florida Southern, Lewis Beeden of Wingate, Conrad Brown of Western Washington, Cooper Tendick of West Florida and Drew Zielinski of Lee. The winner will be announced June 7 during Jack Nicklaus’ annual Memorial Tournament presented by Workday press conference.

Barile helped lead Florida Southern with eight top 10 finishes this season, including seven straight entering the NCAA Division II Championship. The Sunshine State Conference Golfer of the Year earned his first collegiate win at the Las Vegas Desert Classic and posted a 69.5 adjusted scoring average.

Beeden enters the postseason leading NCAA Division II with a 69.4 adjusted scoring average while recording eight top 10 finishes and two victories for Wingate. The senior also helped the Bulldogs secure their first South Atlantic Conference title since 2012.

Brown posted top 10 finishes in nine of his 10 tournaments this season for Western Washington, including a win at the NCAA South/South Central Regional. He also became the program’s ninth GNAC Player of the Year.

Tendick returned as a finalist for the second consecutive year after recording seven top six finishes for defending national champion West Florida. The senior captured the NCAA South/Southeast Regional title and earned First Team All Gulf South Conference honors for the second straight season.

Zielinski spent much of the season ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II according to Scoreboard powered by Clippd. The Lee standout earned Gulf South Conference Golfer of the Year honors and won both the conference championship and the Fripp Island to Bermuda Invite during the season.

All five finalists are scheduled to compete at the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championship from May 18 to 22 at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nevada.

Source: Official GCAA Release