FORT WORTH, Texas (April 16, 2014) – Colonial Country Club, Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) are pleased to announce the 10 semifinalists for The Ben Hogan Award, the most prestigious award in men’s college golf. Among the group are five seniors, three juniors, a sophomore and a freshman.
In alphabetical order, the semifinalists are: Bryson Dechambeau (SMU), Greg Eason (UCF), Joey Garber (Georgia), Brandon Hagy (California), Cheng-Tsung Pan (Washington), Patrick Rodgers (Stanford), Ollie Schniederjans (Georgia Tech), Robby Shelton (Alabama), Cameron Wilson (Stanford) and Bobby Wyatt (Alabama). Brief biographies of the semifinalists as well as notes regarding their inclusion appear below the release.
The Ben Hogan Award is presented annually to the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the 12-month period dating from the previous award’s banquet. The Ben Hogan Award Selection Committee is made up of 24 leaders and experts in amateur, college and professional golf.
On Wednesday, May 7, the group of 10 semifinalists will be pared down to three finalists. The trio will attend a black-tie banquet at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth on Sunday, May 18, where the recipient will be announced. The winner will receive an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s 2015 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
The award, which was first issued in 1990 and included academic achievement in its original list of standards, revised its criteria for the 2001-02 collegiate season to its current standard of honoring the outstanding amateur collegiate golfer. Since that time, the winners have been: D.J. Trahan (Clemson, 2002), Ricky Barnes (Arizona, 2003), Hunter Mahan (Oklahoma State, 2003), Bill Haas (Wake Forest, 2004), Ryan Moore (UNLV, 2005), Matt Every (Florida, 2006), Chris Kirk (Georgia, 2007), Rickie Fowler (Oklahoma State, 2008), Kyle Stanley (Clemson, 2009), Nick Taylor (Washington, 2010), Peter Uihlein (Oklahoma State, 2011), Patrick Cantlay (UCLA, 2012) and Chris Williams (Washington, 2013).
Notable semifinalists over the years include: Jonas Blixt (Florida State), Bud Cauley (Alabama), Kevin Chappell (UCLA), Harris English (Georgia), Chesson Hadley (Georgia Tech), Brian Harman (Georgia), Russell Henley (Georgia), Dustin Johnson (Coastal Carolina), Anthony Kim (Oklahoma), Scott Langley (Illinois), Spencer Levin (New Mexico), Patrick Reed (Augusta State), Webb Simpson (Wake Forest), Jordan Spieth (Texas), Michael Thompson (Alabama), Camilo Villegas (Florida) and Nick Watney (Fresno State).
For more information on The Ben Hogan Award, visit TheBenHoganAward.org and follow @BenHoganAward on Twitter.
–TheBenHoganAward.org–
Meet the Semifinalists
Bryson Dechambeau, SMU, So., Clovis, Calif.
WAGR: #14 SP: #17 GW/S: #19 GS: #11
• Is one of just four players to rank among the top 20 in all four ranking systems.
• Advanced to match play at the 2013 U.S. Amateur Championships after placing sixth during stroke play.
• Claimed medalist honors at the 2013 Trans-Mississippi Championship.
• Placed among top 5 in every fall college tournament.
Greg Eason, UCF, Sr., Leicester City, England
WAGR: #3 SP: #21 GW/S: #9 GS: #6
• Is one of six golfers listed among the top 25 in all four rankings.
• Has eight top-10 finishes, including six top-3 showings, in nine events.
• Owns a pair of collegiate victories during the 2013-14 season.
• Crowned the champion at the South Beach International Amateur in December.
Joey Garber, Georgia, Sr., Petosky, Mich.
WAGR: #23 SP: #36 GW/S: #1 GS: #4
• Is the No. 1 golfer in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings and is fourth according to Golfstat.
• Placed among the top 20 in every college event this season and in the top 5 five times.
• Won the Invitational at Kiawah in the fall for his first career title as a collegian.
• Was the runner up at the 2013 Southern Amateur.
Brandon Hagy, California, Sr., Westlake Village, Calif.
WAGR: #21 SP: #4 GW/S: #6 GS: #5
• Is one of six golfers listed among the top 25 in all four rankings.
• Has three college wins under his belt on the season.
• Has finished among the top 10 in nine of his 11 college events, which includes seven top-5s.
• Advanced to the match play round of 32 at the 2013 U.S. Amateur.
Cheng-Tsung Pan, Washington, Jr., Miaoli County, Taiwan
WAGR: #8 SP: #8 GW/S: #46 GS: #32
• Is one of two collegians in the top 10 in both world amateur ranking systems.
• Won the Kikkor Husky Invitational in the fall for his fourth career collegiate victory.
• Is a three-time semifinalist for The Ben Hogan Award (2012, 2013, 2014).
• Qualified for the 2014 Open Championship by placing second at the Thailand Qualifier in March.
Patrick Rodgers, Stanford, Jr., Avon, Ind.
WAGR: #1 SP: #1 GW/S: #3 GS: #3
• Is the only golfer ranked among the top 10 in all four ranking systems.
• Has four collegiate tournament titles to his credit this year.
• Played for the United States’ Walker Cup and Palmer Cup teams in 2013.
• Tied for 15th at the PGA TOUR’s John Deere Classic last July.
Ollie Schniederjans, Georgia Tech, Jr., Powder Springs, Ga.
WAGR: #10 SP: #11 GW/S: #4 GS: #7
• Is one of just two golfers ranked in the top 12 in all four ranking systems.
• Sports four college tournament victories during the 2013-14 season.
• Had top-10 finishes at the 2013 Northeast Amateur and Players Amateur Championship.
• Has finished among the top 12 in nine of 10 college events this year.
Robby Shelton, Alabama, Fr., Wilmer, Ala.
WAGR: #4 SP: #30 GW/S: #2 GS: #2
• Is one of three players ranked among the top 5 in three of the four rankings.
• Is a three-time winner in his first college season.
• Has not finished outside the top 20 and has six top-5s in nine tournaments.
• Reached the match play round of 16 at the 2013 Western Amateur.
Cameron Wilson, Stanford, Sr., Rowayton, Conn.
WAGR: #17 SP: #5 GW/S: #5 GS: #1
• Is one of just four players to rank among the top 20 in all four ranking systems.
• Has a pair of collegiate victories this year.
• Has finished among the top 15 in all nine college tournaments this season.
• Grabbed top-5 finishes at the Sunnehanna Amateur, Northeast Amateur and Australian Master of the Amateurs.
Bobby Wyatt, Alabama, Sr., Mobile, Ala.
WAGR: #41 SP: #2 GW/S: #11 GS: #10
• Scored a team-best 3.5 points (3-0-1 record) for victorious Team USA at the 2013 Walker Cup.
• Reached the round of 32 at the 2013 U.S. Amateur.
• Has eight top-10 finishes in 10 events.
• Is a two-time semifinalist for The Ben Hogan Award (2013, 2014).
Notes About the Semifinalists
• The Ben Hogan Award semifinalist group includes five seniors, three juniors, a sophomore and a freshman.
• Two of the nominees are semifinalists for the third straight year (Cheng-Tsung Pan and Patrick Rodgers), while Bobby Wyatt is a semifinalist for the second consecutive year.
• In the college rankings, the list includes the top seven players in the Golfstat rankings and the top six players in the Golfweek/Sagarin individual rankings. In the amateur rankings, the list features three of the top four players in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, as well as four of the top five players in the Scratch Players World Amateur listing.
• Just eight universities are represented, as two schools (Alabama and Stanford) boast two nominees each. They are among 14 schools since 2002 with at least two golfers among the final 10.
• With four semifinalists for the third straight year, the Pac-12 Conference once again features the most semifinalists. The other leagues with multiple student-athletes are the Southeastern Conference (3) and American Athletic Conference (2).
• Two of the 10 semifinalists are foreign-born: Greg Eason (England) and Cheng-Tsung Pan (Taiwan).
• The 10 semifinalists play golf at schools in just six states: California (3), Alabama (2), Georgia (2), Florida, Texas and Washington.
• Alabama has had at least one semifinalist in seven consecutive years (Michael Thompson-2008; Bud Cauley-2009, 2010, 2011; Justin Thomas-2012, 2013; Bobby Wyatt-2013, 2014; Robby Shelton-2014), which is the longest active streak in the country. Other schools with representatives at least two years in a row are: Stanford (5), Washington (3) and California (2).
• Alabama’s Robby Shelton is the seventh freshman named semifinalist in the past three years, joining Julien Brun (2012), Cheng-Tsung Pan (2012), Patrick Rodgers (2012), Jordan Spieth (2012), Justin Thomas (2012) and Brandon Stone (2013).
• The Ben Hogan Award has had recipients from two schools that have 2014 semifinalists: Georgia (Chris Kirk) and Washington (Nick Taylor and Chris Williams). Alabama’s Marten Olander won the award in 1993 under the old selection criteria, which included academic performance.
• UCF’s Greg Eason is the first semifinalist in school history.
