The Ben Hogan Award announces its 10 semifinalists
Five individuals honored for second straight year
FORT WORTH, Texas (April 18, 2013) – The Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts brand, in conjunction with Colonial Country Club, The Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America, has announced the 10 semifinalists for The Ben Hogan Award, the most prestigious award in men’s college golf. Among the group are five golfers who are semifinalists for the second consecutive year.
The 2013 The Ben Hogan Award semifinalists, in alphabetical order, are: Julien Brun (TCU, So.), Albin Choi (NC State, Jr.), Sean Dale (North Florida, Sr.), Michael Kim (California, So.), Cheng-Tsung Pan (Washington, So.), Patrick Rodgers (Stanford, So.), Brandon Stone (Texas, Fr.), Justin Thomas (Alabama, So.), Chris Williams (Washington, Sr.) and Bobby Wyatt (Alabama, Jr.).
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 23 leaders and experts in amateur, college and professional golf.
The group of 10 will be pared down to three finalists on Wednesday, May 8. The winner will then be crowned at a black-tie banquet at Colonial Country Club on Monday, May 20, prior to the start of the PGA TOUR’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
This year marks the first year that the Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand is the official sponsor of The Ben Hogan Award. The Crowne Plaza brand is in its second year of sponsorship with PGA TOUR professional golfer Rickie Fowler, the 2008 winner of The Ben Hogan Award. The Crowne Plaza brand is the title sponsor of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial through 2015. In addition, IHG®, the parent company of the Crowne Plaza brand, is the Official Hotel and Resort Partner of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Web.com Tour. The 2013 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial will be held May 20-26 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. The Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial is the longest running PGA TOUR tournament still being held at the original site. Visit www.crowneplaza.com/golf for more.
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) and Patrick Cantlay (UCLA, 2012).
Notable semifinalists over the years include: Bud Cauley (Alabama), Kevin Chappell (UCLA), Harris English (Georgia), Brian Harman (Georgia), Russell Henley (Georgia), Dustin Johnson (Coastal Carolina), Anthony Kim (Oklahoma), Scott Langley (Illinois), Spencer Levin (New Mexico), Webb Simpson (Wake Forest), Jordan Spieth (Texas), Michael Thompson (Alabama), Camilo Villegas (Florida) and Nick Watney (Fresno State).
To find the latest information on The Ben Hogan Award, its candidates and its previous winners, visit TheBenHoganAward.org and follow @BenHoganAward on Twitter.
–TheBenHoganAward.org–
About Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts
Part of the IHG global portfolio, the Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts brand is a dynamic upscale hotel brand located in nearly 65 countries around the world in major urban centers, gateway cities and resort destinations. As the fourth largest upscale full-service hotel brand in the world and one of the fastest growing, the Crowne Plaza brand has a solid foundation for future growth. The portfolio has doubled since 2003 to nearly 400 hotels, and the global pipeline has increased fourfold to nearly 100 hotels. At Crowne Plaza hotels, we help our guests feel energized and productive, with 24-hour business services, wireless high speed Internet access in the lobby, and fitness and leisure facilities. Our Sleep Advantage® program ensures our guests get a great night’s sleep to power through their day. For reservations at Crowne Plaza properties, visit www.crowneplaza.com or call 1-800-2CROWNE. Connect with us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/crowneplaza or Facebook: www.Facebook.com/crowneplaza.
About the Semifinalists
• The Ben Hogan Award semifinalist group includes two seniors, two juniors, five sophomores and one freshman.
• Five of the nominees are semifinalists for the second straight year (Julien Brun, Cheng-Tsung Pan, Patrick Rodgers, Justin Thomas and Chris Williams). Rodgers ultimately was named as a finalist in 2012.
• In the college rankings, the list includes the top four players and eight of the top 10 players in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin individual rankings, as well as the top six players and eight of the top 13 in the Golfstat rankings.
• Among the amateur rankings, the list features four of the top five players and seven of the top 10 players in the R&A World Amateur rankings, as well as four of the top six players and eight of the top 13 in the Scratch Players World Amateur listing.
• Just eight universities are represented, as two schools (Alabama and Washington) boast two nominees each. Alabama and Washington are the 11th and 12th schools since 2002 with at least two golfers among the final 10.
• With four semifinalists for the second straight year, the Pac-12 Conference once again features the most semifinalists. The other leagues with multiple student-athletes are the Big 12 Conference (2) and Southeastern Conference (2).
• Four of the 10 semifinalists are foreign-born: Julien Brun (France), Albin Choi (Canada), Cheng-Tsung Pan (Taiwan) and Brandon Stone (South Africa).
• The 10 semifinalists are comprised of schools in just six states: Alabama (2), California (2), Florida, North Carolina, Texas (2) and Washington (2).
• Alabama now has had at least one semifinalist in six consecutive years (Michael Thompson-2008; Bud Cauley-2009, 2010, 2011; Justin Thomas-2012, 2013; Bobby Wyatt-2013), which is the longest active streak in the country. Other schools with representatives at least two years in a row are: Stanford (4), TCU (2), Texas (2) and Washington (2).
• North Florida’s Sean Dale is the first semifinalist in school history, while Albin Choi is NC State’s first representative since 2003.
• With Sean Dale being named, the semifinalist group features a player who did not appear on the watch list for the fifth time in the past six years (2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013).
2013 Semifinalists
Julien Brun, TCU, So., Antibes, France
Albin Choi, NC State, Jr., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Sean Dale, North Florida, Sr., Jacksonville, Fla.
Michael Kim, California, So., Del Mar, Calif.
Cheng-Tsung Pan, Washington, So., Miaoli County, Taiwan
Patrick Rodgers, Stanford, So., Avon, Ind.
Brandon Stone, Texas, Fr., Pretoria, South Africa
Justin Thomas, Alabama, So., Goshen, Ky.
Chris Williams, Washington, Sr., Moscow, Idaho
Bobby Wyatt, Alabama, Jr., Mobile, Ala.
