Jackson Buchanan (USGA Photo)
Jackson Buchanan of Illinois was named the 2025 Byron Nelson Award recipient by the Salesmanship Club of Dallas and GCAA this evening at TPC Craig Ranch. Awarded annually since 2002, Buchanan is the first golfer from Illinois to earn the award.
"Winning the Byron Nelson Award is a dream come true, and I am so grateful to be considered a worthy recipient,” said Buchanan. “Seeing my name mentioned alongside Mr. Nelson's is an incredible honor and a powerful reminder of the impact he made on the world.”
Currently ranked ninth in the PGA TOUR University Ranking and 15th in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR®), Buchanan has improved his season scoring average each year in Champaign. The Dacula, Georgia native began his collegiate career with a 72.84 as a freshman and is currently at a 70.86 through 36 rounds as a senior. Beginning the season on his second Big Ten Golfers to Watch List in as many preseasons, Buchanan won the Fallen Oak Collegiate on October 21 (75-68-66, -7) for his fourth collegiate victory.
The 2024 U.S. Amateur Semifinalist and 2025 Big Ten Medal of Honor recipient has been Illinois’ top finisher in six of their 12 tournaments this season. After leading the team with eight top-10 finishes and 12 rounds in the 60s last season, Buchanan was named 2024 Co-Big Ten Golfer of the Year as well as PING All-American (Honorable Mention; Third Team in 2023), PING All-Midwest Region, and First-Team All-Big Ten for the second straight season.
He is a five-time Big Ten Golfer of the Week and was runner-up at the 2023 NCAA Championship.
Graduating next month with a 3.63 GPA in Business: Operations Management, Buchanan was a 2023-24 College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar. He has been named GCAA All-America Scholar and Spring Academic All-Big Ten team twice.
Buchanan has served at the Eastern Illinois Foodbank for all four years he’s been in Champaign, packing freezer items, potatoes, and apples, building boxes, working on assembly lines, and more. Since 2022, he has sorted, packed, and loaded 500 boxes containing non-perishable food items delivered to the local Bloomington, Illinois community through the Tinervin Family Foundation.
At different North Gwinnett Co-Op store locations in 2021-22, Buchanan sorted, organized, labeled, and replaced food and non-food items within a store location to support families in need. He also provided underprivileged neighbors access to meals, hygiene, and household needs through The Block in 2021-22. Buchanan has taken part in Illinois’ Campus Walk for Suicide Awareness, connecting with students during a walk around the University of Illinois campus with signs, food, and spirit in support of suicide awareness. He went station to station during the International Prep Academy’s Field Day in 2022-23, tutoring kids in Spanish and supervising and playing with the kids. When he visits home in Georgia, Buchanan dedicates time to giving back to an organization that gave so much to him as a junior golfer, the North Georgia Golf Academy. He has led in swing and putting lessons, played with junior golfers, and shared his experiences.
"I am so proud of everything that Jackson has accomplished during his time at the University of Illinois, and for him to be honored as the recipient of the Byron Nelson Award is so incredibly special,” Illinois Head Coach Mike Small said. Jackson's high-level success in. all areas of the student-athlete true representation of both this award and of Byron Nelson's legacy. All of us who know Jackson are happy and proud of what he has accomplished here at the University of Illinois, and we are thrilled that he is this year's recipient of this prestigious award."
“It is about far more than success on the golf course, but using the platform afforded by this great game to make a difference in the world around us,” Buchanan continued. “I am so thankful to my family, coaches, teammates, and so many others who have supported me throughout my career to make all of this possible."
About the Byron Nelson Award
The purpose of the Byron Nelson Award is to select annually the outstanding Division I, II, III, or NAIA scholar-athlete of the year. The recipient, a graduating senior, is recognized for their achievement in the classroom, on the course, and in their community. Past winners include Christo Lamprecht (Georgia Tech), David Nyfjäll (Northwestern), William Knauth (Carnegie Mellon), McClure Meissner (SMU), John Murphy (Louisville), Ryan Lumsden (Northwestern), Matthew Perrine (Baylor), Maverick McNealy (Stanford), Stephen Behr (Clemson), Anders Albertson (Georgia Tech), Brandon Hagy (Cal), Brinson Paolini (Duke), Dylan Frittelli (Texas), Cyril Bouniol (Abilene Christian), Brendan Gielow (Wake Forest), James White (Georgia Tech), Mike Van Sickle (Marquette), Nathaniel James (Washington & Lee), Sam Korbe (Tulsa), Roberto Castro (Georgia Tech), Zack Robinson (Oklahoma State), Michael Putnam (Pepperdine), Billy Hurley (Navy), Troy Matteson (Georgia Tech), and Jason Allred (Pepperdine).