Pressel Named Charlie Bartlett Award Winner


Morgan Pressel has been named the winner of the Charlie Bartlett Award by the Golf Writers Association of America in recognition of the charitable efforts of her Morgan Pressel Foundation to heighten breast cancer awareness and fight the disease.

Pressel established the foundation in honor of her mother, Kathryn Krickstein, who succumbed to breast cancer when her daughter was 15 years old.

"Carrying out the mission of the Morgan Pressel Foundation is a team effort, and an honor like this would not be possible without the hard work of many, especially my family and my community at St. Andrews Country Club (in Boca Raton, Fla.)," Pressel said.

In six years, the foundation has raised more than $3.4 million and the efforts have been felt in her hometown area, Palm Beach County. The Kathryn Krickstein Mammovan became a reality a few years ago, working out of Boca Raton Regional Hospital. It travels throughout the county to provide affordable breast exams and care to those who otherwise might not be able to afford it.

In 2013, Boca Raton Regional Hospital's Lynn Cancer Institute opened the Morgan Pressel Center for Cancer Genetics, where individual risks for developing certain cancers with hereditary links are studied.

Pressel, now 26, also hosts the "Morgan and Friends Fight Cancer Tournament" in January at St. Andrews CC, and contributes funds through her "Bucks For Birdies" campaign during the LPGA Tour season. "The work that my foundation does in the area of breast cancer is very meaningful to me on a deep, personal level," Pressel said.

Pressel, whose first of two LPGA Tour wins was a major - the Kraft Nabisco Championship in 2007, joins previous Bartlett Award winners that include Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Ernie Els, the late Payne Stewart, and Lorena Ochoa.

"I am truly humbled to be selected to receive the Bartlett Award this year. To know that I will be joining an amazing group of individuals who have received this award before me is a great honor," she said.

The award is named in memory of the first secretary-treasurer of the GWAA, who served 21 years until his death in 1967. It will be presented to Pressel at the 43rd GWAA Annual Awards Dinner April 8 in Augusta, Ga.

The award is given to a playing professional for unselfish contributions to the betterment of society and is given in memory of the GWAA's first secretary. It has been presented since 1971 when the inaugural winner was the late Billy Casper.

The GWAA will also honor Players of Year Rory McIlroy, Stacy Lewis and Bernhard Langer, William D. Richardson Award winner Donald "Doc" Giffin, Ben Hogan Award winner Jarrod Lyle and ASAP Sports/Jim Murray Award winner Jim Furyk at the dinner.