Scottish golfer in running once again for top US college award

The three-time Curtis Cup player, who is in her senior year at the University of South Carolina, has been included among 20 players for the first so-called watch list of the spring on the college circuit.

It is the third time that Broomieknowe member Darling has been an Annika Award contender, having also made the list for an accolade bearing the name of former world No 1 Annika Sorenstam in both 2022 and 2023.

Darling, who currently sits 17th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, has been shortlisted on this occasion for a prize presented by Stifel after landing her second US college win in the Annika inter-collegiate event in Minnesota in September.

That came hot on the heels of the two-time Scottish Girls’ champion helping Catriona Matthew’s Great Britain & Ireland side win a thrilling Curtis Cup contest against the US at Sunningdale.

Lottie Woad, one of Darling’s team-mates in that match and both the current world No 1 and last year’s Augusta National Women’s Amateur winner, is also on the Annika Award list, as are three Stanford players - Megha Ganne, Meja Oretengren and Paula Martin Sampedro.

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The award is presented to the top female NCAA Division I golfer as voted on by players, coaches, select members of the media and past award recipients. Swede Ingrid Lindblad won last year’s award.

Meanwhile, Matthew will be up against the same US captain in next year’s Curtis Cup at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles after Meghan Stasi was re-appointed by the USGA.

In another announcement by one of the game’s governing bodies, the 2044 Walker Cup will be played at Pine Valley Golf in New Jersey. It will be the event’s third visit there after previous editions in both 1936 and 1985.