Feb. 9, 2009
LAS VEGAS - UNLV junior golfer Eddie Olson has been included on the Ben Hogan Award watch list, which was announced Monday in Norman, Okla., by Chesepeake Energy, in association with Colonial Country Club, The Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
The most prestigious award in men's college golf, The Hogan is presented annually to the top men's NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or junior college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the last 12 months.
Last year's Hogan recipient Rickie Fowler of Oklahoma State highlights a list that also includes returning PING First-Team All-America selections Jorge Campillo of Indiana, Stanford's Sihwan Kim and Jamie Lovemark of Southern California and World Team Amateur participants Billy Horschel of Florida and Washington's Nick Taylor.
Others on the 22-player watch list include Texas A&M's Bronson Burgoon, Bud Cauley and Matthew Swan of Alabama, Point Loma Nazarene's Sam Cyr, Dustin Garza of Wichita State, Southern California's Matthew Giles, Russell Henley, Adam Mitchell and Hudson Swafford of Georgia, Oklahoma State's Trent Leon, Kyle Stanley of Clemson, UAB's Zack Sucher, Jarin Todd of Sonoma State, Georgia Tech's Cameron Tringale and Mike Van Sickle of Marquette.
The Hogan Award semifinalists will be announced April 16. Three finalists named on May 7 will be invited to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Hogan Award presentation on the evening of May 22.
Olson has played in five tournaments this season and has turned in a stroke average of 70.67 per round. He has recorded three top-five finishes, including tying for medalist honors at the William H. Tucker Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M., in September.
Former Rebel golfer Seung-Su Han also was named to the watch list in both 2007 and 2008, while former UNLV golfer Ryan Moore was the 2005 Hogan Award winner, which marked the first time a UNLV golfer was named the national player of the year. In 2006, UNLV's Andres Gonzales was a semifinalist for the award.
2009 The Ben Hogan Award Watch List (in alphabetical order)
Bronson Burgoon, Texas A&M
Jorge Campillo, Indiana
Bud Cauley, Alabama
Sam Cyr, Point Loma Nazarene
Rickie Fowler, Oklahoma State
Dustin Garza, Wichita State
Matthew Giles, Southern California
Russell Henley, Georgia
Billy Horschel, Florida
Sihwan Kim, Stanford
Trent Leon, Oklahoma State
Jamie Lovemark, Southern California
Adam Mitchell, Georgia
Eddie Olson, UNLV
Kyle Stanley, Clemson
Zack Sucher, UAB
Hudson Swafford, Georgia
Matthew Swan, Alabama
Nick Taylor, Washington
Jarin Todd, Sonoma State
Cameron Tringale, Georgia Tech
Mike Van Sickle, Marquette
