March 24, 2005
ATLANTA – Georgia Tech’s Nicholas Thompson has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2005 Ben Hogan Award, presented annually to the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or junior college golfer.
Bank of America, in cooperation with Colonial Country Club, The Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), announced the 10 semifinalists Thursday for the Hogan Award, which takes into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the last 12 months.
Thompson, a senior from Coral Springs, Fla., has won two events in the past five months, including the prestigious Jones Cup Invitational in February at Sea Island, Ga., and the Western Refining Collegiate All-America Classic in November in El Paso, Texas.
He ranks sixth in the nation among collegiate players according to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index, and is the No. 4-ranked amateur player in the nation. Thompson carries a 71.00 stroke average in nine collegiate events this year (second-best among ACC golfers), and has posted seven top-20 finishes, including four top-10 showings.
A two-time all-Atlantic Coast Conference performer, Thompson was a third-team All-American and an All-America Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America last spring, as well as an honorable mention All-American as a sophomore.
Other semifinalists include former NCAA medalist Alejandro Cañizares of Arizona State; East Tennessee State’s Rhys Davies; U.S. Open low amateur Spencer Levin of New Mexico; Oklahoma State’s Pablo Martin; U.S. Amateur, U.S. Public Links and NCAA Champion Ryan Moore of UNLV; Indiana’s Jeff Overton; Aron Price of Georgia Southern; Pepperdine’s Michael Putnam; and Matthew Rosenfeld of Texas.
The Hogan Award selection committee will announce three finalists on April 20. The three finalists will attend The Hogan Award banquet on Saturday, May 14 at Colonial Country Club – the Saturday prior to the Bank of America Colonial – with the recipient announced that evening.
2005 BEN HOGAN AWARD SEMIFINALISTS(in alphabetical order)Alejandro Cañizares, Arizona StateRhys Davies, East Tennessee StateSpencer Levin, New MexicoPablo Martin, Oklahoma StateRyan Moore, UNLVJeff Overton, IndianaAron Price, Georgia SouthernMichael Putnam, PepperdineMatthew Rosenfeld, TexasNicholas Thompson, Georgia Tech
