May 7, 2014
Fort Worth, Texas – Georgia Tech’s Ollie Schniederjans has been named a finalist for the 2014 Ben Hogan Award, given annually to the nation’s top collegiate golfer, announced Wednesday by Colonial Country Club, Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America.
The junior from Powder Springs, Ga., who is the first finalist for the award in Tech golf history, is one of three finalists for the honor along with Stanford teammates Patrick Rodgers and Cameron Wilson.
All three players rank among the top 10 in each of the four ranking systems-the World Amateur Golf Ranking, Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking, Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings and Golfstat Rankings.
All three finalists will attend a black-tie banquet at Colonial Country Club on Sunday, May 18, prior to the start of the PGA TOUR’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. The winner will be crowned at the banquet, which will be streamed live begin¬ning at 8 p.m. (CT). The keynote speaker is noted golf course designer and architect Bruce Devlin, an eight-time PGA TOUR winner and 1966 Colonial National Invitation champion.
“To be one of the finalists for this award is a thrill and an honor, similar to being a finalist for the Heisman in football,” said Schniederjans. “I’m honored to be considered and to be the first Tech finalist, and I’m really looking forward to being in Fort Worth.”
Schniederjans is tied for the NCAA Division I lead in victories in 2013-14 with five, establishing a new Georgia Tech record for individual season wins in the process. His victories include a current three-tournament winning streak with triumphs at the Val¬spar Invitational, Robert Kepler Invitational and Atlantic Coast Conference Championships. The former Harrison High School star is currently ranked third in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings and fourth according to Golfstat.
In the fall, the junior won a pair of prestigious college events, the Carpet Capital Collegiate and the United States Collegiate Championship. In all, he has eight top-10 finishes in 11 events and carries a season stroke average of 69.73, helping the Yellow Jackets to a top-5 national ranking. He was named the Southern Golf Association’s National Amateur of the Month as well as the ACC Golfer of the Month in April. Schniederjans placed 12th at the Western Refining All-America Classic last November.
Schniederjans, who is currently ranked fourth in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and ninth according to Scratch Players, was named to the United States’ 2014 Palmer Cup team as an automatic qualifier. Last June, he was the runner-up at the Dogwood Invitational. He also finished among the top 10 at the Southern Amateur, Northeast Amateur and the Players Amateur Championship.
The 2014 The Ben Hogan Award recipient will receive an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s 2015 Crowne Plaza Invitational at Co¬lonial, as well as earn a grant for its men’s golf scholarship program. Last year, the winner’s university received a $25,000 grant, while the other finalists’ schools each received gifts of $12,500.
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 24 leaders and experts in amateur, college and professional golf. In order to determine the finalists, each committee member cast a ballot ranking the group of 10 semifinalists from 1-10.
The award, which was first issued in 1990 and included academic achievement in its original list of standards, revised its crite¬ria for the 2001-02 collegiate season to its current standard of honoring the outstanding amateur collegiate golfer and moved the award to Colonial Country Club. Since that time, the winners have been: D.J. Trahan (Clemson, 2002), Ricky Barnes (Arizo¬na, 2003), Hunter Mahan (Oklahoma State, 2003), Bill Haas (Wake Forest, 2004), Ryan Moore (UNLV, 2005), Matt Every (Flor¬ida, 2006), Chris Kirk (Georgia, 2007), Rickie Fowler (Oklahoma State, 2008), Kyle Stanley (Clemson, 2009), Nick Taylor (Wash¬ington, 2010), Peter Uihlein (Oklahoma State, 2011), Patrick Cantlay (UCLA, 2012) and Chris Williams (Washington, 2013).
Rodgers, the Pac-12 Player of the Year with five victories this year, is a finalist for the second time in his collegiate career, having previously received an invitation to Colonial Country Club as a freshman in 2012. The native of Avon, Ind., is the world’s top-ranked amateur golfer according to both the World Amateur Golf Ranking as well as the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking. Wilson, a first-team All-Pac-12 choice who hails from Rowayton, Conn., is ranked second in the Golfstat rankings and fifth by Golfweek/Sagarin. He corralled his first two career college wins this year, opening the season with a victory at the Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields and then taking medalist honors at the Western Intercollegiate this spring.
To find the latest information on The Ben Hogan Award, its candidates and its previous winners, visit the official web site www.TheBenHoganAward.org and follow @BenHoganAward on Twitter.
GEORGIA TECH NATIONAL PLAYERS OF THE YEAR
Fred Haskins Award – David Duval (1993), Stewart Cink (1995), Matt Kuchar (1998), Bryce Molder (2001)
Jack Nicklaus Award – David Duval (1993), Stewart Cink (1995), Bryce Molder (1998, 2001)
Golfweek Player of the Year – Bryce Molder (1998, 2001)
Dave Williams Award – David Duval (1993), Stewart Cink (1995), Matt Kuchar (2000), Bryce Molder (2001)
