Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and Ireland’s Leona Maguire were both recently presented with the Mark H McCormack Medal. The pair were previously named as the winners of the prestigious prize as leading man and woman in the 2017 World Amateur Golf RankingsTM (WAGRTM).
Before claiming victory in the Latin America Amateur Championship (LAAC) in his hometown of Santiago, Niemann was presented with the medal at the Prince of Wales Country Club during the event’s opening ceremony.
The 19-year-old is the first player from South America to win the title since the inception of WAGRTM in 2007 and the third Chilean to record victory in the LAAC. His final round of eight-under-par 63 broke the championship record and helped him finish on 11-under-par (273) overall.
He received an invitation to compete in the 2018 Masters Tournament as well as full exemptions into The Amateur Championship, US Amateur Championship and Final Qualifying for The 147th Open at Carnoustie.
Picking up her third consecutive McCormack Medal, – a feat only previously achieved by former world no.1 Lydia Ko (2011 – 2013) – Maguire, a senior student at Duke University in the United States, was honoured at a college basketball game.
Maguire enjoyed another excellent season winning the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship at Pyle & Kenfig and finishedjoint runner-up in the 2017 NCAA Championship individual standings, notching up three wins from ten starts in the 2016/17 season and finishing in the top six in every event. The 22-year-old also earned the Annika Award as the national player of the year for the second time in her career.
