Fort Worth, Texas – Georgia Tech junior golfers Luke Schniederjans and Tyler Strafaci are among 28 of the nation’s most accomplished collegiate golfers that have been named to the 2019 Ben Hogan Award watch list, according to a joint announcement made by the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation, the Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
The Ben Hogan Award presented by Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta) is given 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 a 12-month period from June to May.
The 2019 Ben Hogan Award watch list, as determined by the award’s subcommittee, includes: Zach Bauchou (Oklahoma State), Callum Bruce (Midland College), Quade Cummins (Oklahoma), Chandler Eaton (Duke), Steven Fisk (Georgia Southern), Stephen Franken (NC State), Luis Gagne (LSU), Will Gordon (Vanderbilt), Will Grimmer (Ohio State), Cole Hammer (Texas), Viktor Hovland (Oklahoma State), Philip Knowles (North Florida), Peter Kuest (BYU), Brandon Mancheno (Auburn), Collin Morikawa (California), Bryson Nimmer (Clemson), Chandler Phillips (Texas A&M), Trent Phillips (Georgia), Peng Pichaikool (Mississippi State), Isaiah Salinda (Stanford), Matthias Schmid (Louisville), Luke Schniederjans (Georgia Tech), Alex Smalley (Duke), Tyler Strafaci (Georgia Tech), Justin Suh (Southern California), Matthew Wolff (Oklahoma State), Brandon Wu (Stanford) and Chun An Yu (Arizona State).
Georgia Tech is one of four programs to have multiple student-athletes on the list – Oklahoma State (3), Duke (2), Georgia Tech (2) and Stanford (2).
Four players have strong ties to the Ben Hogan Award, most notably Morikawa, who was finalist in 2018 after being named a semifinalist in 2017. Meanwhile, Bauchou, Hovland and Suh were among the 10 semifinalists a year ago.
Schniederjans, from Powder Springs, Ga., is ranked No. 8 in the current Golfstat national individual rankings, while Strafaci, from Davie Fla., is No. 23. Schniederjans has a team-high three top-10 finishes and a team-leading 69.08 stroke average this season. Strafaci has two top-10 finishes and a 70.50 stroke average.
This year’s list of 10 semifinalists, which could include individuals not on the watch list, will be unveiled on Wednesday, April 17. On Thursday, May 2, that group will be pared down to three finalists. The finalists will attend a black-tie dinner at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday, May 20, prior to the start of the PGA TOUR’s Charles Schwab Challenge, where the winner will be crowned.
The Ben Hogan Award Selection Committee, which votes during each stage of the process, is comprised of leaders in collegiate, amateur and professional golf.
The Ben Hogan Trophy was first issued in 1990 and also included academic achievement in its original list of standards. In 2002, the Ben Hogan Award moved to Fort Worth, Texas, and revised its criteria to its current standard of honoring the outstanding amateur collegiate golfer.
Ben Hogan Award winners have combined to accumulate 41 PGA TOUR victories and more than $200 million in prize money. Six winners are currently ranked in the top 100 in the Official World Golf Rankings—Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Cantlay, Kyle Stanley, Ryan Moore and Peter Uihlein. Other recipients include: Ricky Barnes, Matt Every, Doug Ghim, Bill Haas, Chris Kirk, Hunter Mahan, Maverick McNealy, Patrick Rodgers, Nick Taylor, D.J. Trahan and Chris Williams.
To find the latest information on The Ben Hogan Award, its candidates and its previous winners, visit TheBenHoganAward.org and follow @BenHoganAward on Twitter.
About the Watch List
- The 2019 Ben Hogan Award watch list is comprised of 14 seniors, eight juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen.
- A total of 23 universities are represented on the watch list. Four schools—Oklahoma State (3), Duke (2), Georgia Tech (2) and Stanford (2)—have multiple honorees.
- Four conferences have at least five golfers on the watch list, led by the ACC with seven. The other leagues with multiple bids are the SEC (6), Big 12 (5) and Pac-12 (5).
- Just eight players (Zach Bauchou, Steven Fisk, Will Gordon, Collin Morikawa, Bryson Nimmer, Chandler Phillips, Justin Suh and Brandon Wu) are repeat members of the watch list.
- Six schools (Arizona State, Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma State, Stanford, Texas) are home to previous Ben Hogan Award winners. Those six schools have combined to collect 11 awards in the 17 years it has been held at Colonial.
- This is the 14th consecutive year that Stanford has had a player named to the watch list, the longest active streak by any school.
Watch List Candidates
- Zach Bauchou, Oklahoma State, Sr., Forest, Va.
- Callum Bruce, Midland College, So., Banff, Scotland
- Quade Cummins, Oklahoma, Jr., Weatherford, Okla.
- Chandler Eaton, Duke, Jr., Alpharetta, Ga.
- Steven Fisk, Georgia Southern, Sr., Stockbridge, Ga.
- Stephen Franken, NC State, Sr., Raleigh, N.C.
- Luis Gagne, LSU, Sr., Orlando, Fla.
- Will Gordon, Vanderbilt, Sr., Davidson, N.C.
- Will Grimmer, Ohio State, Sr., Cincinnati, Ohio
- Cole Hammer, Texas, Fr., Houston, Texas
- Viktor Hovland, Oklahoma State, Jr., Oslo, Norway
- Philip Knowles, North Florida, Sr., Bradenton, Fla.
- Peter Kuest, BYU, Jr., Fresno, Calif.
- Brandon Mancheno, Auburn, So., Jacksonville, Fla.
- Collin Morikawa, California, Sr., La Canada Flintridge, Calif.
- Bryson Nimmer, Clemson, Sr., Bluffton, S.C.
- Chandler Phillips, Texas A&M, Sr., Huntsville, Texas
- Trent Phillips, Georgia, Fr., Inman, S.C.
- Peng Pichaikool, Mississippi State, Jr., Bangkok, Thailand
- Isaiah Salinda, Stanford, Sr., South San Francisco, Calif.
- Matthias Schmid, Louisville, So., Maxhvette, Germany
- Luke Schniederjans, Georgia Tech, Jr., Powder Springs, Ga.
- Alex Smalley, Duke, Sr., Wake Forest, N.C.
- Tyler Strafaci, Georgia Tech, Jr., Davie, Fla.
- Justin Suh, Southern California, Sr., San Jose, Calif.
- Matthew Wolff, Oklahoma State, So., Agoura Hills, Calif.
- Brandon Wu, Stanford, Sr., New York, N.Y.
- Chun An Yu, Arizona State, Jr., Taoyuan, Taiwan
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 24th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, having won 53 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 17 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 28 appearances in the NCAA Championship and been the national runner-up four times. Connect with Georgia Tech Golf on social media by liking their Facebook page, or following on Twitter (@GTGolf). For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
