Harned named WSGA Amateur Golfer of the Year
November 18, 2025 | Men's Golf
Third-consecutive Badger to win award
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin men's golf sophomore William Harned has been named the Wisconsin State Golf Association Amateur Golfer of the Year, the WSGA announced Monday.
The Nashotah native is the third-consecutive Badger to win the annual award, joining Jacob Beckman (2024) and Cameron Huss (2023). UW swept the 2025 podium, seeing junior Charles Erlandson finish second, and Beckman come in third.Â
"I'm incredibly humbled to win this award," Harned said. "It represents the development I have achieved so far in my career at UW, and the accomplishments of my teammates and coaches who push me further everyday. I'm excited to carry this momentous honor into the spring season, competing with my brothers week-in and week-out, before hitting the amateur circuit again next summer.Â
Harned is no stranger to WSGA honors, winning the WSGA Junior Golfer of the Year Award in 2022 before his UW career began. He was the No. 1 ranked golfer out of Wisconsin in the class of '22.Â
The WSGA awards work on a point-system, tallying each golfer's performance across amateur events, typically over the course of a summer. Harned earned 11,128 points this summer, appearing in eight events, winning one and finishing top-five in six others. The biggest triumph came at the Lake Wisconsin Country Club, winning the Dairyland Open. He fired a final-round 66 to finish -6 overall and take the title.Â
He was runner-up at the Badgerland Invitational to start the summer, and finished third at the Wisconsin Amateur Championship, shooting even at the Lido. Harned also took third at the WSGA Four-Ball Championship, and finished fifth at the Match Play Championship and WPLA Ray Fischer Amateur Championship. The sophomore completed his summer at the Wisconsin State Open, a professional event at Blackwolf Run, where he finished 37th- 13th among amateurs. Â
"This is an awesome honor for William," UW head coach Mike Wilson said. "He's one of the hardest workers that I have ever coached, and this award is testament to the countless hours he puts into his golf game. It's the third year in-a-row that a Badger has won this honor, and shows the state of Wisconsin how much our guys care about the WSGA events. We're looking forward to hopefully having a fourth-consecutive honoree next summer."Â
Harned continued his summer success into the fall collegiate campaign, starting for the Badgers in all five events. His best performance came at the Bryson Invitational, leading the Badgers with a 29th-place finish at -3 overall. Harned would go on to finish 38th at the Gopher Invitational, while landing in the top-55 in his other three starts.Â
Harned and the Badgers open the 2025-26 spring season on Feb. 9 with an annual trip down to Puerto Rico for the Puerto Rico Classic. They go full-force in March with the Schenkel Invitational, then the Pay it Forward Collegiate, before rounding out the regular season in April. UW concludes the 2025-26 campaign at the Big Ten Championships on May 1-3, with potential NCAA postseason action to follow.
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