Perks Of Winning The NCAA Division 1 Individual Championship Title

For college golfers, the NCAA Division I Individual Golf Championship is the most prestigious prize of them all and winning it will almost certainly be the highlight of a player's fledgling career.

After competing throughout the academic year, teams and individual players qualify for the season-closing event through regional tournaments, which are typically held in May.

In the championship round, the first four days features 18 holes of strokeplay per day in order to determine the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on advancing teams. Whoever has the lowest four-round total at that point is crowned the champion.

Amateur stars such as Bryson DeChambeau, Stacy Lewis, Tiger Woods, Rose Zhang, Phil Mickelson (three times) and Annika Sorenstam have all etched their names into the history books over the years before going on to achieve even greater things in the pro game.

Victories on the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, respectively, would have seen vast sums of money fall their way - an obvious perk to winning a professional event. But with that not being an option at collegiate level, what perks do winners of the NCAA Division One Golf Championship receive?

Perks Of Winning NCAA Division One Men's Golf Championship

Among the perks for winning the men's title is firstly, your name in the history books. The event, in one form or another, has existed since 1897 and been claimed by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin and Ben Crenshaw - as well as the aforementioned modern names.

No matter the tangible assets which may fall a player's way after winning, being able to say they have a title which some of the greatest golfers of all time also managed to win is very cool.

There is also the small matter of a start at The Masters as well. Introduced as recently as 2023, the men's Individual Champion can look forward to at least two competition rounds at Augusta National in arguably the most famous golf tournament on the planet, as long as they retain their amateur status.

The same is also true for another high-profile championship, with another exemption category recently introduced for the third men's Major of the season. As long as the NCAA Champion stays an amateur, they can look forward to playing the US Open, too.

On a similar note, the individual winner of the men's NCAA Division I Golf Championships will earn an exemption into the next US Amateur - a perk which has been on offer since 2004.

Another key perk for winning the biggest individual prize in college golf is the vast number of World Amateur Golf Ranking points the triumphant player collects. The past several winners have scooped almost 25 points for their success, giving them a significant boost up the standings.

Looking to the future, victory at this championship scores a college golfer two points towards their PGA Tour University Accelerated tally - 10% of the total number required to earn full status on the historic US circuit. Potentially combined with the previous perk, a win here could send players a long way towards setting their pro career up perfectly.

Perks Of Winning NCAA Division One Women's Golf Championship

Identical to the first perk for male players, female college golfers who land the NCAA D1 Golf Championship follow in the footsteps of of Annika Sorenstam et al and go down in history forever as having landed the premier individual title in college golf.

The women's title was only established in 1982 but has already been lifted by multiple LPGA Tour winner and Major champions, so it can be a tough act to follow.

As well as the trophy and exposure to sponsors which can help launch the early stages of a professional career, champions also earn the right to tee it up at the subsequent US Women's Open. This perk only arrived in 2023, with the golfer required to remain an amateur in order to take advantage of it.

Announcing the new exemption category in 2023, USGA Chief Championships Officer, John Bodenhamer said: "These categories provide another avenue for ensuring the presence of those players who are playing their best leading into both national championships.”

As far as points go, a sizeable batch of World Amateur Golf Ranking points are handed out to the NCAA D1 Champion which will help their climb up the rankings. Previous years have seen almost 25 shared with the winner, so nothing to be sniffed at if a player has designs on reaching World No.1 Amateur.

Then there are the two points on offer in the LPGA Tour Elite Amateur Pathway program - 10% of the required total to gain LPGA Tour membership. This is a new perk, having only been introduced in 2025, and can combine with a career-high WAGR ranking of between first and fifth to fuel a player's LPGA Tour dreams.