Finalists Announced for 2026 NAIA Jack Nicklaus Award presented by Workday
NORMAN, Okla. -- Five finalists have been named for the 2026 NAIA Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Workday. They are Sam Dykema of Indiana Wesleyan, Antonio Juarbe of Coastal Georgia, Christopher Richards Jr. of Webber International, Iver Sokhan-Sanj of Keiser, and Felipe Suarez of Missouri Valley. The winner will be announced by Nicklaus on Sunday, June 7 during his annual the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday press conference. The award will be presented to the recipient by Nicklaus and Workday.
Dykema is a finalist for the second consecutive year after eight top-five finishes and top-11 finishes in all 10 tournaments this season with two victories. Ranked third via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd, the junior from West Chicago, Ill., won the NAIA National Preview by five strokes on September 23 and the SCAD Cup by three strokes on March 17. The back-to-back Crossroads League Player of the Year and three-time All-Crossroads First Teamer, Dykema is looking to become Indiana Wesleyan’s first Nicklaus Award recipient. He is also a two-time PING All-Midwest Region and 2025 PING First Team All-America honoree.
Juarbe has compiled 10 top-five finishes this season and top-seven finishes in all 11 tournaments with five victories. Ranked second via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd, the junior from Jesup, Ga., was co-champion at the Roadrunner Classic on March 31 and the season-opening Coastal Georgia Fall Invitational on September 9 while winning the BMCU Spring Classic by two strokes on March 24, the Bojangles Invitational by one stroke on October 19, and the Coastal Georgia vs. SCAD Savannah by five strokes on October 12. The Sun Conference Golfer of the Year, Juarbe is looking to become the second Nicklaus Award recipient from Coastal Georgia, to join Mark David Johnson in 2019.
Ranked No. 1 via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd with six top-eight finishes in seven tournaments this spring, Richards Jr. was named First Team All-Sun Conference on April 21. The freshman from Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago, won the Currahee Club Invitational by five strokes on March 3 and the Carey Collegiate presented by Walk-On’s by two strokes on March 10. Sporting a 69.0 adjusted scoring average, Richards Jr. is looking to become the first golfer from Webber International and the first from Trinidad and Tobago to receive the Nicklaus Award.
Sokhan-Sanj has recorded five top-three finishes with four victories in his sophomore season. Ranked sixth via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd, the Lørenskog, Norway native, became just the third Seahawk to win the Sun Conference Championship, winning by one stroke on April 21. He also captured the Music City Classic by two strokes on April 14, the Kona Ice Keiser Kup by two strokes on March 10, and the Jupiter Collegiate Invitational by two strokes on October 14. Sokhan-Sanj is looking to join Jakob Stavang Stubhaug (2022) and Isac Wallin (2024) as golfers from Keiser to win the Nicklaus Award.
The Heart of America Conference Player and Freshman of the Year, Suarez has carded eight top-two finishes in 10 tournaments with six victories this season for the Vikings. Ranked fourth via Scoreboard Powered by Clippd, the Córdoba, Argentina, native won the Heart of America Conference Championship by four strokes on April 28, had a four-tournament, 23-stroke winning streak from October 14 to March 17, and won the MVC Fall Invitational by three strokes on September 9. With a 69.6 adjusted scoring average, Suarez is looking to become Missouri Valley’s first Nicklaus Award recipient.
All five finalists are competing this week at the 2026 NAIA Championship at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Ill.
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 enterprise AI platform for managing people, money, and agents. Workday unifies HR and Finance on one intelligent platform with AI at the core to empower people at every level with the clarity, confidence, and insights they need to adapt quickly, make better decisions, and deliver outcomes that matter. Workday is used by more than 11,500 organizations around the world and across industries – from medium-sized businesses to more than 65% of the Fortune 500. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com.