FORT WORTH, Texas (March 16, 2021) — The Ben Hogan Trophy Award Foundation has announced the three finalists for Ben Hogan Award February Golfer of the Month accolades are Ludvig Aberg of Texas Tech, AJ Ott of Colorado State and David Puig of Arizona State.
Aberg, a sophomore from Eslov, Sweden, won twice during the month. He began by taking the trophy at the prestigious Jones Cup Invitational by one shot with a 2-under 214. Aberg added another victory by sharing first place in a 120-player field at the Prestige at PGA West with a 209 (-4). Overall, the No. 2-ranked player in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking (SPWAR) and fifth-ranked in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) had a 70.50 stroke average.
Ott claimed wins in both events he participated in during the month while posting a 68.17 average over six rounds. The senior from Fort Collins, Colo., claimed the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate by two shots with a 205 (-11) as well as the Prestige Individual Tournament on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff following a three-round 204 (-12). Ott is currently ranked inside the top 100 in both the WAGR (77th) and SPWAR (93rd).
Puig, who is a finalist for the Ben Hogan Award Golfer of the Month honor for the second straight month, cruised to a four-shot win at the Amer Ari Invitational after shooting a 54-hole score of 203 (-13). In addition, the sophomore from La Garriga, Spain, tied for seventh at the Prestige at PGA West by posting a three-round total of 212 (-1). Ranked No. 12 in the SPWAR and No. 16 in WAGR, Puig carried a 69.17 scoring average over six rounds.
The monthly honor counts any college, amateur or professional event completed during the month. Winning a monthly award is not a prerequisite to be named a Ben Hogan Award semifinalist, finalist or winner.
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 Thursday, March 18 at 9 p.m. (CT). The winner of the monthly award will be named Friday.
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–
Ben Hogan Award Golfers of the Month
August 2019 – Andy Ogletree, Georgia Tech
September 2019 – Cooper Dossey, Baylor
October 2019 – Chris Gotterup, Rutgers & Peter Kuest, BYU
November 2019 – Parker Gillam, Wake Forest
December 2019 – Noah Norton, Georgia Tech
January 2020 – Sahith Theegala, Pepperdine
February 2020 – Ricky Castillo, Florida
July 2020 – Tyler Strafaci, Georgia Tech
August 2020 – Tyler Strafaci, Georgia Tech
September 2020 – John Pak, Florida State
October 2020 – Kyle Hogan, Texas Tech
November 2020 – Ford Clegg, Mississippi State
December 2020 – Will Holcomb, Sam Houston State
January 2021 – Vincent Norrman, Florida State
