FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 8, 2021) — West Virginia’s Mark Goetz, Michigan State’s James Piot and Washington State’s Max Sekulic are the finalists for The Ben Hogan Award August Golfer of the Month accolades. All are first-time contenders for the monthly hoor.
Goetz, a senior, won medalist honors among a field of 312 players at the 121st United States Amateur at Oakmont Country Club. The product of Greensburg, Pa., fired a two-round score of 132 (-8), including an opening round 64. His efforts earned him a berth in the match play round of 64 as the top seed.
Piot, a senior from Canton, Mich., was the winner of the 2021 U.S. Amateur Championship. He collected a 2 and 1 victory in the final match. He tied for 29th in the stroke-play portion of the event with an even-par 140. In addition, he claimed the Golf Association of Michigan Championship.
Sekulic, a senior, won a pair of events during the month, the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship and the Northwest Open Invitational. At the Canadian Amateur, his 72-hole score of 267 (-17) was one off the stroke play record while he shattered the scoring record at the Northwest by six shots with a 23-under 193. The native of Rycroft, Alberta, Canada, also participated in the U.S. Amateur, placing in a share of 152nd place.
The Ben Hogan Award’s monthly honor counts any college, amateur or professional event completed during the month. Fifteen total ballots are eligible to be cast, with 12 coming from members of the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation and Friends of Golf and three social media fan ballots. Those votes are issued to the top vote getter on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, with the contests open through Friday, Sept. 10 at noon (CT). The winner of the monthly award will be named Friday afternoon.
The Ben Hogan Award is given annually to the top men’s college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions over the previous 12 months. The Ben Hogan Trophy was first issued by the Friends of Golf at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles in 1990. In 2002, The Ben Hogan Award moved to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, and revised its criteria to its current standard of honoring the outstanding amateur and collegiate golfer.
–www.TheBenHoganAward.org–