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Daniels honored by Golf World

Golf team honored by magazine for 2nd week in a row

For the second time in as many weeks, a member of the UA women's golf team was honored by Golf World magazine as the top collegiate player in the country.

Senior All-American Jenna Daniels was named the top golfer after winning the Ping/ASU Invitational in Tempe on Sunday. Sophomore Cristina Baena won the award last week after her sudden death victory against Daniels to win the Dr. Thompson Rainbow Wahine Golf Invitational in Oahu, Hawaii.

"It's definitely a confidence booster," Daniels said, adding that playing in a pro tournament earlier this year helped her game tremendously.

"I felt that if I played well with the pros, I could easily hang with collegiate golfers," Daniels said. "It just gives me extra confidence."

UA women's golf head coach Todd McCorkle said his senior star's confidence has risen because of her accolades.

"The main thing that Jenna gets out of being number one is confidence," he said. "The more she hears it, the more she believes it."

The confidence has shown in the eight tournaments played this season by UA, as Daniels has won two - Ping/ASU Invitational and the Golf World Invitational in Hilton Head, S.C. - and has finished in the top-10 in the other six.

McCorkle was quite confident that Daniels would win the award this week after her performances over the last two weeks.

"With her being in a playoff last week and winning it this week, it would be an injustice if she wasn't player of the week," McCorkle said. "She has won so many awards this year, you almost expect her to win everything."

Daniels however is not concerned with the awards.

"I don't play golf for any awards but rather for the love of the team and my game," Daniels said. "All of the awards are just extra bonuses."

Baena, who only found out about her award yesterday, said she was excited to hear about the honor.

"I am finally achieving what I wanted (on the golf course), and at least I won a tournament," Baena said. "The honor is nice, and I guess I'm just happy I got it. It's nothing out of this world, but I am happy I got it."

For Daniels, the awards have not done justice to what her presence on and off the course has meant to the UA golf team, as she has provided solid leadership all season long.

"It's kind of like having an assistant coach," McCorkle said. "It makes my job much easier."

All-American senior Jill Gomric agreed.

"She supports us all the time, and she is always there to lend a helping hand," Gomric said. "She is a total team player."