Army West Point Golfer Selected to Prestigious Award List in Program First

An Army West Point men’s golfer has never started the year on the preseason watch list for the game’s top award.

Oct 16, 2021; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Army Black Knights logo on sideline equipment during warmups prior to the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium. / Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

John Heckel Jr. will enter his senior campaign for Army West Point men’s golf on the watch list for college golf’s most prestigious award.

Heckel is on the watch list for the Fred Haskins Award, which is given to the nation's top collegiate golfer.

Notably, he is the first Army golfer to ever earn notice on the preseason watch list.

Last season’s winner was Auburn’s Jackson Koivun.

Heckel Jr. ranks 89th nationally according to Clippd and was as high as 40th during the fall season. He has a scoring average of 69.7 over his 10 rounds this fall. He has won the individual title at the Ryan T. Lee Memorial Collegiate and at the Commander-in-Chief's Cup.

The Las Vegas, Nev., native was named All-Patriot League second team last spring after he finished 10th at the Patriot League Championship at Saucon Valley Country Club. He shot 7-over for the tournament.

Before conference action his top finished was 22nd at the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Invitational at 7-over. He also finished 36th at the Schenkel Invitational at 1-under par, as he combined to go 2-under on the last two days to finish under par for the event.

Last spring he was also a team captain and a GCAA All-America Scholar.

In 2023 he was named All-Patriot League first team and helped the Black Knights capture the CIC Cup at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

He was also the 2022 Patriot League rookie of the year and a second-team selection after finishing sixth at the Patriot League Championship.

Army has wrapped up the fall season. The Black Knights return to the links Feb. 23-25 at the Dorado Beach Collegiate at the TPC Dorado in Dorado, Puerto Rico.

In March, Army will play in the Palmetto Intercollegiate in Aiken, S.C., followed by the Schenkel Invitational in Statesboro, Ga.

April takes the Black Knights to the Bush Cup in Durham, N.C., followed by the Mountaineer Invitational in Morgantown, W.V.

The Patriot League championships are set for April 25-27 at Bucknell Golf Club in Lewisburg, Penn.

The Haskins Award is presented annually by the Haskins Foundation to honor the most outstanding collegiate golfer in the United States. The Haskins Award is named in memory of Fred Haskins, former golf teaching professional at the Country Club of Columbus (Georgia) who devoted his life to nurturing and mentoring amateur players.