Fort Worth, Texas – Georgia Tech seniors Andy Ogletree, Luke Schniederjans and Tyler Strafaci are among 31 of the nation’s most accomplished collegiate golfers who have been named to the 2020 Ben Hogan Award watch list, according to a joint announcement made Wednesday 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.
Ogletree (Little Rock, Miss.), the reigning U.S. Amateur champion, is No. 19 in the latest Golfstat national player rankings, followed by Strafaci (Davie, Fla.) at No. 63 and Schniederjans Powder Springs, Ga.) at No. 93. All three seniors were named to All-America teams and the All-Atlantic Coast Conference team in 2019. They have combined for eight top-10 finishes in 2019-20.
The 2020 Ben Hogan Award watch list, as determined by the award’s subcommittee, also includes: John Augenstein (Vanderbilt), John Axelsen (Florida), Ricky Castillo (Florida), Pierceson Coody (Texas), Quade Cummins (Oklahoma), Cooper Dossey (Baylor), Austin Eckroat (Oklahoma State), Carl Didrik Fosaas (Keiser), Noah Goodwin (SMU), Cole Hammer (Texas), Peter Kuest (BYU), Drew Mathers (Huntingdon), William Mouw (Pepperdine), Vincent Norrman (Georgia Southwestern), John Pak (Florida State), Adrien Pendaries (Duke), David Perkins (Illinois State), Trent Phillips (Georgia), Mark Power (Wake Forest), Garrett Reband (Oklahoma), Jovan Rebula (Auburn), Matthias Schmid (Louisville), Sandy Scott (Texas Tech), Sahith Theegala (Pepperdine), Davis Thompson (Georgia), Jack Trent (UNLV), Trevor Werbylo (Arizona) and Chun An Yu (Arizona State).
Just eight players (Cummins, Hammer, Kuest, Phillips, Schmid, Schniederjans, Strafaci and Yu) are repeat members from the 2019 watch list. Two members, Hammer and Yu, were among the award’s 10 semifinalists a year ago.
Georgia Tech Seniors
This year’s list of 10 semifinalists, which could include individuals not on the watch list, will be unveiled on Wednesday, April 15. That group will be pared down to three finalists in May, and the finalists will attend a black-tie dinner at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, where the winner will be crowned.
The Ben Hogan Award Selection Committee votes during each stage of the process. It 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 at Colonial have combined to accumulate 39 PGA TOUR victories and more than $240 million in prize money. Two winners are currently ranked in the top 10 in the Official World Golf Rankings, No. 3 Jon Rahm (2015-16) and No. 6 Patrick Cantlay (2012), Other recipients include: Ricky Barnes (2003), Matt Every (2006), Rickie Fowler (2008), Doug Ghim (2018), Bill Haas (2004), Viktor Hovland (2019), Chris Kirk (2007), Hunter Mahan (2003), Maverick McNealy (2017), Ryan Moore (2005), Patrick Rodgers (2014), Kyle Stanley (2009), Nick Taylor (2010), D.J. Trahan (2002), Peter Uihlein (2011) and Chris Williams (2013).
To find the latest information on The Ben Hogan Award, its candidates and its previous winners, visit TheBenHoganAward.org and follow @BenHoganAward on Twitter and Instagram.
Alexander-Tharpe Fund
The Alexander-Tharpe Fund is the fundraising arm of Georgia Tech athletics, providing scholarship, operations and facilities support for Georgia Tech’s 400-plus student-athletes. Be a part of developing Georgia Tech’s Everyday Champions and helping the Yellow Jackets compete for championships at the highest levels of college athletics by supporting the A-T Fund’s Annual Athletic Scholarship Fund, which directly provides scholarships for Georgia Tech student-athletes, and Athletics Initiative 2020, Georgia Tech athletics’ ongoing $125 million initiative to allow Tech to recruit the nation’s most elite student-athletes, build a better student-athlete once they arrive on The Flats and, ultimately, win! To learn more about supporting the Yellow Jackets, visit atfund.org.
ABOUT GEORGIA TECH GOLF
Georgia Tech’s golf team is in its 25th year under head coach Bruce Heppler, winning 63 tournaments in his tenure. The Yellow Jackets have won 18 Atlantic Coast Conference Championships, made 29 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) and Instagram. For more information on Tech golf, visit Ramblinwreck.com.
