The best player in college golf capped her season with a national championship Monday. Some more hardware followed Tuesday.
Texas junior Farah O’Keefe was named the winner of the 2026 Annika Award presented by Stifel, given to the best female golfer in college golf. O’Keefe is the first Annika Award winner from Texas. She also earns an exemption into the Amundi Evian Championship.
The winner of the Annika Award is selected by college golfers, coaches and members of the college golf media and has been handed out annually since the 2014 season.
During her junior season, O’Keefe won four times, all coming this spring and culminating Monday when she captured the 2026 NCAA Women’s Golf individual championship. The No. 4 amateur in the world didn’t finish outside of the top 10 all year and lost to only 37 golfers in 12 stroke-play events this season.
She helped Texas earn the fourth seed after stroke play at Omni La Costa. O’Keefe credited a more conservative approach to her success at NCAAs this year, and her patience paid off with college golf’s biggest honor.
Plenty of celebrating for Farah O’Keefe after her individual championship, but talking after she couldn’t care less
A team title is the goal this week pic.twitter.com/8z3WuONo9j
— Cameron Jourdan (@Cam_Jourdan) May 26, 2026
Past Annika Award winners
- 2025: Mirabel Ting, Florida State
- 2024: Ingrid Lindblad, LSU
- 2023: Rose Zhang, Stanford
- 2022: Rose Zhang, Stanford
- 2021: Rachel Heck, Stanford
- 2020: Natalie Srinivasan, Furman
- 2019: Maria Fassi, Arkansas
- 2018: Maria Fassi, Arkansas
- 2017: Leona Maguire, Duke
- 2016: Bronte Law, UCLA
- 2015: Leona Maguire, Duke
- 2014: Alison Lee, UCLA
Cameron Jourdan is an assistant editor for Golfweek, covering college and amateur golf as well as the PGA Tour.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 2026 Annika Award: Texas junior Farah O’Keefe wins POTY honors