FORT WORTH, Texas (Feb. 14, 2022) — Christian Banke of Arizona, Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira of Arkansas and David Puig of Arizona State have been named finalists for the Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank’s January Golfer of the Month honor.
Banke, a senior, was victorious at his home tournament, the Arizona Intercollegiate after totaling a three-round 14-under-par sum of 202 (67-69-66). His par on the final hole clinched one-stroke victories for him as well as the Wildcats in the team race. It was the first career collegiate victory for the Danville, Calif., native.
Fernandez de Oliveira won the South American Amateur with an 11-under 277 and followed that with a runner-up finish at the Latin America Amateur Championship (282, -6). After returning stateside, the junior from Buenos Aires, Argentina, finished tied for 10th place at the Arizona Intercollegiate with a score of 209 (-7). He had a 69.82 scoring average over 11 rounds.
Puig, a junior from La Garriga, Spain, began the spring collegiate season by defending his individual title at the Southwestern Invitational. He posted a three-round score of 208 (-8) to win by two shots and become the first back-to-back winner in the tournament’s history. Puig’s win earned him Pac-12 Golfer of the Month accolades.
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 Wednesday at 5 p.m. (CT). The winner of the monthly award will be named Thursday.
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–
