Leona Maguire became Wednesday the first to be twice winner of the Annika Prize presented by 2M as the best amateur player of women's golf.


Leona Maguire, 21, has won three titles this season and finished in the top 6 in every tournament she has played. This includes the NCAA Championship, where she tied for second.

By winning the award (which she also received in 2015), Maguire will be exempted from the Evian Championship, the LPGA's fifth major, from September 14 to 17.

In a surprising move last fall, Maguire pulled out of the LPGA Q-School Finals, deciding instead to end her career with the Blue Devils. The world's leading amateur now has seven academic titles.

The Annika Award is voted for by college players, coaches and the media. Other nominees for the award were Jennifer Kupcho of Wake Forest and Andrea Lee of Stanford.