ELMSFORD, N.Y. (May 14, 2026) Emmy award-winning golf reporter Damon Hack will receive the coveted MGWA Lincoln Werden Golf Journalism Award at its 73rd National Awards Dinner. The award will be presented on Tuesday, October 6th at Mountain Ridge Country Club in West Caldwell, NJ. Mr. Hack joins a distinguished lineup of 2026 honorees, including previously announced Gold Tee Award winner Judy Rankin and Paul Dillon Distinguished Service Award winner Mike Whan. Additional 2026 honorees will be revealed shortly.
The MGWA’s Lincoln Werden Journalism Award is presented to a writer, broadcaster, photographer, artist, or other individual for outstanding contributions in the field of golf journalism. Previous recipients of this esteemed award include famed correspondents Jim McKay, Jack Whitaker, Jim Nantz and Pulitzer Prize winner Dave Anderson. More recently, Johnny Miller (2020-21), Mark Cannizzaro (2022), Jimmy Roberts (2023), Steve DiMeglio (2024) and last year’s recipient, Bill Pennington, were honored with this prestigious recognition.
“I’d like to think I helped break Damon in on the golf beat when he first started covering for Newsday – perhaps more so in the extra-curricular realm,” remarked MGWA president Hank Gola, the 2018 Lincoln Werden honoree. “You could see then that his enthusiasm and talent would carry him to great things, a destiny he has fulfilled across newspapers, magazines and broadcast journalism. At one point, Damon, Mark Cannizzaro and myself formed a triumvirate of New York golf coverage at the Times, Post and News, respectively. I know that Mark will join me in proudly welcoming Damon to Club Werden.”
Damon Hack grew up in Los Angeles and studied history at UCLA. While interning at radio station KMPC-Los Angeles during college, Hack was introduced to golf, playing his first round at Spanish Hills. Despite shooting a 144, he was hooked on the sport.
After earning his master’s degree in journalism from UC Berkeley, Hack went to work at the Sacramento Bee, covering prep and college sports and eventually the San Francisco 49ers. After four years at the Bee, Hack made the cross-country move to New York to take a job at Newsday, where he reported on both golf and the NY Knicks. His next move was to the NY Times, where his focus stayed on golf in addition to covering the NFL. Sports Illustrated was his next stop until the Golf Channel called, and he relocated his wife and triplet sons to Orlando to become one of the station’s premier hosts. He’s been a fixture at the Golf Channel (TGC) since 2012, where he co-hosts Golf Today, is an on-site reporter for NBC/Golf Channel’s live tournament action and is a regular contributor to Golf Central. He has also hosted portions of the Golf Channel’s “Race and Sports in America” segment, which appeared on TGC’s Morning Drive. During his career, Hack has reported on countless major sporting events such as the Masters, the US Open, (British) Open Championship, PGA Championship, as well as the Super Bowl and several Olympic Games. He won Golf Writers Association of America awards for pieces on Tommy Gainey and Sergio Garcia and is the proud recipient of an Emmy award for his hosting duties during NBC’s coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
Formed in 1952, the MGWA has celebrated the game of golf and promoted golf journalism since its inception. Its signature event, the MGWA National Awards Dinner, has been one of the highlights on the golf calendar since its very first Dinner was held at Toots Shor’s Restaurant in January, 1953. Over the decades, the Dinner has honored – and been attended by – some of the greatest names in the sport: Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, JoAnne Carner, Gary Player, Billy Casper, Nancy Lopez, Tom Watson and Annika Sorenstam, to name just a few. This highly anticipated event is supported by golf’s leading organizations and corporate supporters, Met Area clubs and club leaders, as well as local and national golf media. Through the Dinner and other events, the MGWA has had a significant philanthropic impact in the Metropolitan New York area, raising millions of dollars for local Caddie Scholarship programs, the MGA Foundation, and the Dave Marr Journalism Scholarship.
Click here to purchase tickets to the Dinner.
