Ben Hogan Award: 7 first-time semifinalists among 10 contenders

April 17, 2019 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Cole Hammer is the only freshman among the semifinalists (USGA photo)

A list of Ben Hogan Award contenders has been narrowed to 10 collegians, which includes mostly upperclassmen

An initial list of 28 men has been whittled down to 10 as the selection process for this season’s Ben Hogan Award continues. The semifinalist group consists of six seniors, two juniors, one sophomore and one freshman.

The Ben Hogan Award is given annually in May 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 past 12-month period. The award’s selection committee, which votes during each stage of the process, is made up of 30 leaders and experts in professional, amateur and collegiate golf.

The semifinalists include (in alphabetical order):

Will Gordon, Vanderbilt, Sr., Davidson, N.C.
Cole Hammer, Texas, Fr., Houston, Texas
Viktor Hovland, Oklahoma State, Jr., Oslo, Norway
Collin Morikawa, California, Sr., La Cañada Flintridge, Calif.
Bryson Nimmer, Clemson, Sr., Bluffton, S.C.
Alex Smalley, Duke, Sr., Wake Forest, N.C.
Justin Suh, Southern California, Sr., San Jose, Calif.
Matthew Wolff, Oklahoma State, So., Agoura Hills, Calif.
Brandon Wu, Stanford, Sr., Scarsdale, N.Y.
Chun An Yu, Arizona State, Jr., Taoyuan, Taiwan

Morikawa was a finalist in 2018 and a semifinalist in 2017, while Hovland and Suh were semifinalists a year ago. Four leagues are represented on this year’s list, led by the Pac-12 Conference with four semifinalists.

Hammer is the first freshman to make the semifinal list since Florida’s Sam Horsfield did it in 2016.

The only teammates on the list are Hovland and Wolff, who are No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings.

From here, the list will be narrowed to three finalists, who will travel to Colonial Country Club in Ft. Worth, Texas, where the winner will be announced at a black-tie banquet on Monday May 20, prior to the start of the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge.

The winner of the 2019 Ben Hogan Award will receive an exemption into the 2020 Charles Schwab Challenge.

About the Ben Hogan Award

Ben Hogan Award: 7 first-time semifinalists among 10 contenders

The Ben Hogan Award is given annually to honor the best college golf player in the United States. Since 2005, the award winner is named at a ceremony prior to the PGA Tour event at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, and is invited to the fol...

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