NORMAN, Okla. – West Florida’s Cooper Tendick was one of five finalists named for the 2025 NCAA Division II Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Workday. 

OFFICIAL RELEASE

The winner will be announced by Nicklaus on Sunday, June 1 during his annual the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday press conference with awards presented to each of the recipients by Nicklaus and Workday.

Tendick, the Gulf South Conference Player of the Year, led the second-ranked Argonauts with six top-10 finishes, two victories, and a 70.61 scoring average. Ranked seventh via Scoreboard powered by Clippd, the junior from Kennesaw, Ga., earned PING All-South Region and First Team All-GSC for the first time after receiving Second Team All-GSC honors in 2024. Tendick, a three-time GSC Team Champion, is looking to become the second Jack Nicklaus Award winner in school history after Chandler Blanchet in 2017.

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.