The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Golf's Maas named 2026 Gary Player International Golfer of the Year
07.22.2026 | Men's Golf
Former Longhorn selected to receive annual award that honors the top international collegiate golfer.
NORMAN, Okla. — Former University of Texas Men's Golf All-American Christiaan Maas has been named the 2026 Gary Player International Division I Golfer of the Year presented by FlightScope, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced Wednesday. The annual award is given to the most outstanding collegiate golfer from outside the United States.
Maas, a native of Pretoria, South Africa, completed his collegiate career this past spring. He became just the sixth individual in program history to claim four All-America accolades, joining Justin Leonard (1991-94), Brad Elder (1995-98), Jason Hartwick (2001-04), Doug Ghim (2015-18) and Pierceson Coody (2019-22). A first-team All-America selection by both PING/GCAA and Golfweek in 2026, Maas earned membership on the Korn Ferry Tour by virtue of his No. 2 finish in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2026 ranking.
One of five finalists for the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award and one of 10 finalists for the Fred Haskins Award in addition to earning first-team All-SEC and PING All-Central Region Team honors, Maas played in 13 of the team's 14 events this season and posted a team-best 69.60 stroke average while recording one victory and eight top-eight individual finishes. Thirty of his 40 rounds played this year were par or better, including 20 in the 60s.
Maas claimed medalist honors by two strokes against an elite field at the Southern Highlands Collegiate (March 1-3) with a 10-under 206 (70-68-68). He earned low amateur honors and tied for 10th at the DP World Tour's Hero Dubai Desert Classic (Jan. 22-25) with a 6-under 282 (70-71-69-72). Maas also won the individual title by 10 strokes and paired with teammate Daniel Bennett to pace Team South Africa to the team crown at the 2025 World Amateur Team Championships (Oct. 8-11) in Singapore.
Maas and the Longhorns completed the 2025-26 season with a run to the Match Play quarterfinals at the 2026 NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa in Carslbad, Calif. Texas claimed four team titles and 11 top-three finishes during its 14 stroke-play events last year.
Considered one of golf's "Big Three" along with Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player has left an everlasting impact on the game by being a worldwide ambassador, philanthropist and golf course designer. One of only six golfers to win the career grand slam, Player's outstanding career has included 165 professional wins on six continents over seven decades.
