Story courtesy of Dalton State Sports Information
DUBLIN, Ohio – Jack Whaley of Dalton State has been named the 2025 Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday. The Nicklaus Award recognizes the national player of the year at the Division I, II, III, NAIA, and NJCAA levels.
"This year's group of winners once again puts on display the incredible depth of talent in the collegiate game that has led to parity at every level, evident by our Division I, II, and III recipients being the first Nicklaus Award recipients in their school's history," said Nicklaus.
"You only need to look at the PGA TOUR right now to understand how strong college golf currently is and how the competition has set them up for success at the next level. The last five Division I winners of the Jack Nicklaus Award who have turned pro have all won on the PGA TOUR."
Whaley won five times this season, including the 2025 NAIA Championship that saw an opening-round and tournament-record 61, and finished inside the top three in all nine tournaments for the Roadrunners. The sophomore from Doncaster, England, tallied a 69.52 scoring average with 14 rounds in the 60s en route to PING First Team All-American and Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) Player of the Year honors for the second straight year. Whaley, ranked No. 1 via Scoreboard powered by Clippd since at least October 16, is Dalton State's fourth Nicklaus Award recipient since 2015, joining Ben Rebne (2020), SM Lee (2017-18), and Sean Elliott (2015).
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 is the AI platform for managing people, money, and agents. The Workday platform is built with AI at the core to help customers elevate people, supercharge work, and move their business forever forward. Workday is used by more than 11,000 organizations around the world and across industries – from medium-sized businesses to more than 60% of the Fortune 500. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com.