LSU’s five-time golf All-American and national player of the year, Ingrid Lindblad, has been named recipient of the 2024 Inkster Award Presented by Workday, recognizing the highest ranked women’s Division I collegiate golfer in her final year of eligibility for the 2023-24 college golf stadium
The award is named after Juli Inkster, a World Golf Hall-of-Fame member and LPGA legend who was a three-time All-American at San Jose State (1979-82). Inkster elected not to turn professional until finishing her four-year commitment to her school, winning 17 individual college times. Inkster recorded 45 professional wins, 31 on the LPGA Tour, including seven LPGA majors.
The Inkster Award winner announcement was made Tuesday onsite at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, a PGA TOUR event in Dublin, Ohio.
Lindblad, a fifth-year senior, is the top-ranked amateur in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and finished the season as the top-ranked DI women’s college golfer according to Clippd. She captured four victories during the 2023-24 season, highlighted by the individual medalist at the NCAA Regional Championships. She completed her collegiate career with 15 total victories, an SEC record. She also finished third at the 2024 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.
As a result of winning the 2024 Inkster Award, Lindblad will receive:
• Exemption to compete in the 2024 Portland Classic on the LPGA Tour, taking place Aug. 1-4 at Columbia Edgewater Country Club in Portland, Ore.
• She will automatically advance to the second stage of LPGA Q-School, Oct. 15-18 at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Fla.
• As a presenting sponsor of the Inkster Award, Workday will provide $50,000 to the Juli Inkster Foundation to help support Lindblad’s transition to her professional golf career. The $50,000 will support Lindblad’s mentorship retreat with Inkster and assist with Lindblad’s travel expenses.
• She will join Inkster on a two-day mentorship retreat in Northern California.
In many ways, Lindblad’s career paralleled Inkster’s in that the native of Sweden came back to LSU for a fifth year of college play when she could have very easily stepped into the pro ranks.
“Ingrid has had a decorated amateur and collegiate career at LSU, earned her college degree and excelled on the golf course as the world’s top-ranked amateur,” said Inkster. “That says a lot about not only her performance on the course but also about her goals and passions away from it and putting education as a priority. I look forward to mentoring Ingrid as she navigates the next stage in her professional and personal journeys.
“I also want to thank the Women’s Golf Coaches Association and Workday for partnering with me on this award,” continued Inkster. “To have a player be honored for her commitment to her school, coaches and her teammates is what this award is all about.”
“I’m super excited to be the recipient of this year’s Juli Inkster Award,” said Lindblad. “Juli has had an incredible career on tour and I aspire to follow in her footsteps. I would like say thank you a big thank you to Workday and Juli Inkster for this mentorship and opportunity to start my professional career.”
“The Juli Inkster Senior Award is a very unique and special award to receive,” said LSU Women’s Golf Head Coach Garrett Runion. “It’s always special to get recognized as one of the best seniors in college golf but I think it’s what comes with winning the award that makes it special. With the help of Workday and Juli Inkster the winner will be set up very nicely to start their pro career. I can’t think of three more beneficial items that would help your pro career than what Juli does for these winners.
“The chance to win The Juli Inkster award was another reason why Ingrid wanted to come back for her fifth year. Now she will have at least one LPGA Tour event start, a little money for travel and most importantly have a HOF Golfer to help mentor her as she starts her professional career. After getting to know Juli more during this process, it’s neat to see how invested she is and how much she wants to help the winners succeed.”
Lindblad wrapped up her collegiate career by leading LSU to a T5 finish at the 2024 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships in Carlsbad, Calif., last month, with the Tigers finishing No. 3 in the NCAA rankings.
Lindblad, who also recently was named the WGCA Player of the year and winner of the ANNIKA Award, set a school record with a season average of 69.42 for the 2023-24 season and for her college career of 70.30. She also posted 42 top 10 finishes in her career and posted 105-of-148 rounds at par or under. She also recorded three top-three finishes in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, won the 2021 European Ladies Amateur and led Sweden to victory in the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship in France.
She was the winner of the McCormack Medal presented to the top amateur in the world by the USGA and the R&A and earned an exemption with that award to compete last week in the U.S. Women’s Open in Lancaster, Pa. She is expected to tee it up as a professional this weekend on the Epson Tour in Michigan.
About the Inkster Award presented by Workday
The Inkster Award presented by Workday shines a light on an NCAA Division I senior who commits a full college career to her team in a climate where leaving school early to turn professional has become more enticing for the game’s top college players. Workday, a presenting sponsor, is proud to support the next generation of women athletes going above and beyond in their sport and communities. The award is administered by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association and managed by Outlyr, a global sports marketing and event management company. Furman senior Natalie Srinivasan was the inaugural Inkster Award Division I winner (2020), with Duke senior Jaravee Boonchant winning the 2021 award, San José State’s Natasha Andrea Oon the 2022 winner and the University of Georgia’s Jenny Bae winning the 2023 award.
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