SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (Seminoles.com) — Florida State Men’s Golf senior John Pak has been crowned as the Fred Haskins Award presented by Stifel winner given to the top player in men’s collegiate golf, announced on Tuesday on the GOLF Channel in conjunction with the Fred Haskins Commission.
The 2021 Haskins Award featured the highest voting turnout by players and coaches combined in the award’s 50-year history.
Pak becomes the first Seminole ever to win The Haskins Award, which is decided based on the combined vote of players, coaches and selected media. Pak is the ninth winner from the ACC and the first since NC State’s Matt Hill won in 2009.
“So many great golfers have won this award. Just to be up there with those guys gives me a lot of confidence,” said Pak after receiving the award. “I have a great support system around me at Florida State, and I’m so happy I chose to come here. Having the coaches around just helping me to get better every single day is what I think helped me have such a great season this year.
“Traveling with my friends, teammates and my coaches is something I will always cherish,” continued Pak. “I love my teammates to death. Those are my fondest memories being on this golf team.”
The other two finalists included Georgia’s Davis Thompson and South Carolina’s Ryan Hall.
𝑯𝑬 𝑫𝑰𝑫 𝑰𝑻!@johnnydpak is the 𝑭𝑰𝑹𝑺𝑻 @TheHaskinsAward winner in program history! 🍢 pic.twitter.com/YsMtxKnNUx
— FSU Golf (@FSUGolf) June 1, 2021
“Stifel has been a proud supporter of the Fred Haskins Award for more than a decade, and we are honored to announce John Pak as this year’s award winner,” said Ron Kruszewski, Chairman and CEO of Stifel. “We salute John’s achievements both on the golf course and in the classroom during this challenging year, and wish him the best as he continues his journey in golf.”
“John is an outstanding individual on and off the course who has excelled under the challenges of this very unconventional golf season, and we are honored to have him join the distinguished class of Fred Haskins Award presented by Stifel winners,” said Brian Stubbs, executive director of the Fred Haskins Commission. “With 2021 being the largest voter turnout in the 51-year history of this award, on behalf of the Fred Haskins Commission I would like to extend my sincere thank you to all of the players, coaches, sports information directors and members of the college golf media for their support.”
Pak’s career at FSU has been record shattering. He leaves the program as the school’s career leader with a 69.87 stroke average while tying for the record of eight wins alongside legendary golfer Nolan Henke.
Earlier on Tuesday, Pak also earned his second PING First-Team All-America honor, making him the first Seminole to earn first-team honors twice in a career.
The Scotch Plains, N.J., native is also a finalist for the Ben Hogan Award (announced this Friday at Colonial Country Club) as well as The Jack Nicklaus Award (announced this Sunday at The Memorial).
Pak also had the prestige of being the inaugural champion of the PGA TOUR University Class, earning all exemptions to The Korn Ferry Tour for the 2021 season. He is eligible to compete at the BMW Charity Pro-Am on June 10-13 in Greer, South Carolina.
In just 38 tournaments played, Pak also set the FSU record for most Top 10 finishes with 29. He joins only Henke (28) and Christian Raynor (21) as Seminoles with 20 or more Top 10 finishes in a career.
Adding to the numerous impressive feats of Pak’s career, he own the top three single-season scoring averages at FSU as he continues re-writing the record books. Pak’s stroke average in 2020 was 69.40, followed by 69.56 in 2019 and 69.71 in 2021.
