May 9, 2007
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s Roberto Castro, a three-time All-American and four-time all-conference performer, is one of five finalists named by the Golf Coaches Association of America for the Byron Nelson Award, given to the nation’s top graduating senior golfer.
Other finalists for the Nelson Award, presented by Cleveland Golf, in cooperation with the Four Seasons Resort and Club Las Colinas and the Salesmanship Club of Dallas, include Louie Bishop of UC Davis, Sam Korbe of Tulsa, Brendon Todd of Georgia and Chris Wilson of Northwestern.
Candidates for the Nelson must be a graduating senior and the selection committee will consider equally a nominee’s entire collegiate academic career, entire collegiate golf career and his character and integrity while in college. Particular consideration is given to a nominee’s good citizenship, as portrayed by Mr. Byron Nelson over the course of his life and golf career.
A three-time All-America selection, including first-team honors in 2005, Castro has been named All-ACC four times and has played in two Palmer Cup Matches, serving as U.S. captain in 2005. He recorded his first collegiate tournament victory this season and posted five other top-10 showings. Castro was named a Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar in 2006.
One of the nation’s outstanding amateur golfers as well as an outstanding student and leader, Castro will go down as one of the most successful golfers in Tech’s tradition of outstanding players. The Alpharetta, Ga., native is also a two-time Academic All-America and an Academic All-ACC selection. He serves on the Georgia Tech Student-Athlete Advisory Board and is active in the community, including Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity and the Michael Isenhour Toy Drive. He graduated May 5 with highest honor in Industrial Engineering.
He is one of four Tech recipients of the 2007 Weaver-James-Corrigan Post-Graduate Scholarship Award given by the ACC each year, and received the 2007 Total Person Award, the highest honor given by the Georgia Tech Athletic Association for excellence in academics, athletics, leadership and service.
He will finish his career with more than 20 top-10 finishes and more than 30 top-20 efforts and one of Tech’s three best career stroke averages.
The Nelson – which is in its sixth year of sponsorship with Cleveland Golf – will be named prior to the NCAA Championships.
