DUBLIN, Ohio - Junior Jonathan McEwen of the Washington and Lee University men's golf team has been named the recipient of the 2026 NCAA Division III Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday for the second consecutive season, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced on Sunday during a special press conference at the 50th anniversary of Nicklaus' annual Memorial Tournament at the Muirfield Village Golf Club.
The Jack Nicklaus Award honors the top men's golfer at every level of collegiate golf, including NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, as well as the NAIA and NJCAA. McEwen joins fellow 2026 recipients Jackson Koivun (Auburn University, Division I), Max Barile (Florida Southern College, Division II), Iver Sokhan-Sanj (Keiser University, NAIA), and Abe Bignell (McLennan Community College, NJCAA).
The honor marks McEwen's third consecutive national award. He was named the Division III recipient of the Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman of the Year Award in 2024 and earned his first Jack Nicklaus Award in 2025.
In nine tournaments this season, McEwen posted a 68.3 adjusted scoring average across 28 rounds. He recorded three victories and finished among the top five in eight events. He carded 12 rounds in the 60s this season with 22 rounds of par or better while contributing a counting score in all 28 rounds for the Blue and White. His victories came at the Gate City Invitational, the Savannah Invitational, and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Championship, where he successfully defended his conference title.
With his second Jack Nicklaus Award, McEwen joins an exclusive group of multi-time recipients, becoming just the 11th golfer to win the honor more than once in the awards 38-year history. He joins Bryce Molder (Georgia Tech, 1998, 2001), Phil Mickelson (Arizona State, 1990-92), Jarin Todd (Sonoma State, 2007-08), Sam Cyr (Point Loma Nazarene, 2008-09), Alex Carpenter (Abilene Christian, 2011-12), Kerry Sweeny (Eastern Flordia State, 2015-16), S.M. Lee (Dalton State, 2017-18), Callum Bruce (Midland, 2018-19), and Jackson Koivun (Auburn, 2024, 2026) on the distinguished list. He also became the second golfer in Division III history to win in back-to-back seasons, joining Hope College's Josh Gibson who won the award in 2018 and 2019.
At the NCAA Division III Championship, McEwen finished as the national runner-up after shooting nine-under par (278) over four rounds, breaking his own program record for a 72-hole score. He totaled 16 birdies and 50 pars during the championship and led the 225-player field in par-3 scoring at five-under par.
Since the award's inception in 1988, 28 Jack Nicklaus Award recipients have gone on to compete on the PGA Tour, including Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Patrick Cantlay, Maverick McNealy, Jon Rahm, Sam Burns, Sahith Theegala, and Ludvig Åberg.
"Jonathan is rapidly becoming one of the most decorated players in Division III history," said Thomas R. Wall IV '80 Head Men's Golf Coach Pete Gyscek, PGA. "To receive this award multiple times places him in elite company in collegiate golf. He is the kind of player every coach would love to work with, and I am certainly looking forward to his senior year at Washington and Lee University."
This year, McEwen added more awards to his already lengthy resume as he was named a PING First Team All-American and All-Region selection, First Team All-ODAC, ODAC/Virgina Farm Bureau Insurance Scholar-Athlete of the Year, ODAC Individual Champion and was named to the 2026 Ben Hogan Award Watch List this season. In addition, McEwen became the fourth Division III player to be selected to compete in the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup in West Barrow, Ireland at the Tralee Golf Links on July 3-5.
McEwen etched his name in the program's record books once again this season as he reset nine program records. He set four new round records this season in low round (64), low round vs. par (-8), Low 54 hole total (-14 at Jekyll Island Collegiate) and low 72 hole total (-9 at NCAA Championship) while also posting the second-lowest 54 hole total with a score of 13-under par at the Savannah Invitational.
In addition, he set six season records this year. He had 22 par or better rounds in the team's 28 rounds played this season, counted in all 28 rounds while posting the best head-to-head percentage in program history, defeating 97.3% of the 1,013 opponents he squared off against. McEwen also recorded a program record eight eagles this year while posting program-best scoring on par 3's (3.02) and par 5's (4.55).
About Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday
Nicklaus, a Big Ten and NCAA Champion at Ohio State, helped inspire and create the Jack Nicklaus Award in 1988. The award is now presented to the National Player of the Year in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, as well as NAIA and NJCAA.
About the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday
The Memorial Tournament presented by Workday is held annually at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. The Tournament, founded and hosted by Jack Nicklaus, is conducted each year with three goals in mind: to honor the memory of individuals living and deceased who have distinguished themselves in the game of golf; to showcase the world's best golfers competing on one of the most challenging venues in the world for the enjoyment of spectators; and to benefit many Greater Columbus Charities in alliance with the Nicklaus Children's Health Care Foundation, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation and numerous other local organizations. For more information, visit
www.thememorialtournament.com or call 614-889-6700.
About Workday
Workday operates at the heart of the enterprise – HR, finance, and IT – where the margin for error is effectively zero. By tightly coupling AI with the context, guardrails, and trusted processes that run the business, Workday goes beyond AI that assists work to agents that do the work and drive measurable outcomes. More than 11,500 organizations worldwide, including more than 65% of the Fortune 500, trust Workday to deliver. For more information about Workday, visit
workday.com.
Nestled in the mountains of Virginia, Washington and Lee University is a proud member of NCAA Division III and the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. Founded in 1749, W&L is the ninth-oldest college in the United States and a top-ranked liberal arts university. With over 500 student-athletes in 24 varsity sports, the Generals have celebrated over 265 conference championships. Learn more about the Blue and White by visiting www.generalssports.com or on social media at @WLUGenerals.
