FORT WORTH, Texas (Sept. 10, 2021) – Michigan State senior James Piot has been selected as The Ben Hogan Award’s August Golfer of the Month following committee and social media voting. It is the first honor collected by a Spartan golfer since the monthly award was formed in the summer of 2019.
Piot was crowned the champion of the 121st U.S. Amateur at Oakmont, earning exemptions into the 2022 U.S. Open and 2022 Open Championship. He collected a 2 and 1 victory in the final match after being down three holes with nine to play. Over the course of his first five matches, Piot trailed just nine total holes.
Prior to winning the match-play title, the native of Canton, Mich., tied for 29th place in the stroke-play portion of the event with an even-par 140. Earlier in the month, he also claimed the Golf Association of Michigan Championship by two shots with a 54-hole score of 203 (-7).
The Ben Hogan Award’s monthly honor counts any college, amateur or professional event completed during the month. The other finalists for the August honor were fellow seniors Mark Goetz of West Virginia and Max Sekulic of Washington State.
Fifteen total ballots were cast, with 12 coming from members of the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation and Friends of Golf and three social media fan ballots. Those ballots were issued to the top vote getter on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Piot claimed the Instagram and Twitter votes with record-setting totals, while Goetz collected the Facebook ballot.
The Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank is given each May to the top men’s college golfer taking into account all collegiate, amateur and professional competitions played 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. Winning a monthly award is not a prerequisite to be named a semifinalist, finalist or winner of The Ben Hogan Award.
–www.TheBenHoganAward.org–
2021-22 The Ben Hogan Award Golfers of the Month
June 2021 – Dylan Menante, Pepperdine
July 2021 – Michael Thorbjornsen, Stanford
August 2021 – James Piot, Michigan State
