Hannah Darling and Calum Scott in running for top US college golf awards

Talented Scottish teenagers Hannah Darling and Calum Scott have been shortlisted for two of the top awards on the US college circuit.
Hannah Darling, pictured in action in last year's NCAA Championship, has been a solid performer for South Carolina on the US college circuit. Picture: NCAAHannah Darling, pictured in action in last year's NCAA Championship, has been a solid performer for South Carolina on the US college circuit. Picture: NCAA
Hannah Darling, pictured in action in last year's NCAA Championship, has been a solid performer for South Carolina on the US college circuit. Picture: NCAA

Broomieknowe’s Darling, who is in her second year at South Carolina, has made a 15-player list for the Annika Award presented by Stifel while Nairn and Texas Tech star Scott is among 20 players in the running for the Haskins Award.

The Annika Award is presented annually to the most outstanding women's college golfer, as voted on by players, coaches and media. Past winners include Ireland’s Leona Maguire.

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Darling currently sits 12th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, having been as high as sixth. The 19-year–old has recorded top-ten finishes in four of her six-stroke play starts this season for South Carolina. The best of those efforts was finishing runner-up in the Windy City Collegiate Classic in October, when she also claimed a third-place effort in the Jackson T. Stephens Cup.

Calum Scott has emulated his big brother Sandy by becoming one of Texas Tech's star players on the US college circuit. Picture: Texas TechCalum Scott has emulated his big brother Sandy by becoming one of Texas Tech's star players on the US college circuit. Picture: Texas Tech
Calum Scott has emulated his big brother Sandy by becoming one of Texas Tech's star players on the US college circuit. Picture: Texas Tech

Darling faces stiff competition in the battle for the Annika Award as other players on the shortlist include world No 1 Rose Zhang, last year’s winner from Stanford, and third-ranked Rachel Keuhn (Wake Forest).

Zhang, the leading amateur in last year’s AIG Women’s Open at Muirfield, has won five times this season, one more title than she captured a season ago as a freshman.

Others in the running include England’s Lottie Woad (Florida State) and Ireland’s Lauren Walsh, who is one of Keuhn’s team-mates in North Carolina.

The Haskins Award honours the player of the year in college men’s golf, with the recipient being selected by college golfers, coaches and college golf media

Scott, who finished third in the European Amateur Championship in Spain last summer, has earned his place on that shortlist after emulating his big brother Sandy by producing some eye-displays for Texas Tech.

He finished second behind highly-rated South African Christo Lamprecht in the Inverness Collegiate in September and also made the top ten in both the Frederica Cup and Ben Hogan Collegiate Invite either side of that effort.

Scott also faces strong competition, led by his Texas Tech team-mate and world No 1, Swede Ludvig Aberg, while others on that shortlist include Gordon Sargent (Vanderbilt) and Michael Thorbjornsen (Stanford).

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Meanwhile, Richie Ramsay took full advantage of being out in the best of conditions before play was suspended for the day in the second round of the SDC Championship due to high winds at St Francis Links in South Africa.

Ramsay was understandably pleased with his five-under-par 67, which lifted him into the top ten on four-under - four shots off the clubhouse lead, held by Frenchman Julien Brun after opening rounds of 69-67.

Connor Syme, who’d opened with a 68, sits on four-under with 12 holes to play, with Ewen Ferguson a shot further back after eight holes and David Law finished on one-over after dropping five shots in his last five holes.

Elsewhere, David Drysdale sits in the top 20 after a second-round 70 in the Asian Tour’s DGC Open at Delhi Golf Club, where home player Chikkarangappa S leads by three shots.

And, in Thailand, Michele Thomson is on course for a good pay-day in the $1 million Aramco Team Series after opening efforts of 72-71 to lie in a tie for 18th heading into the final round at Laguna National.

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