News
The Ben Hogan Award selects 10 semifinalists
The Ben Hogan Award is arguably the biggest individual award in collegiate golf. Given annually to the most outstanding amateur college golfer, the award is unique in that it considers the players collegiate, amateur and professional competitions during the previous 12-month period. And today, the Award Foundation listed its 10 semifinalist for the 2019 trophy.
They are : senior Will Gordon of Vanderbilt, Texas freshman Cole Hammer, junior Viktor Hovland of Oklahoma State, California senior Collin Morikawa, senior Bryson Nimmer of Clemson, Duke senior Alex Smalley, senior Justin Suh of Southern California, Oklahoma State sophomore Matthew Wolff, senior Brandon Wu of Stanford and Arizona State junior Chun An Yu.
All 10 players are currently ranked among the top 25 in each of the four major ranking systems—Golfstat NCAA Player Ranking, Golfweek/Sagarin Collegiate Individual Ranking, Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking and World Amateur Golf Ranking.
First given in 1990 at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, the award was created by former Heisman Trophy winner Tom Harmon. “Harmon had won the Heisman Trophy at the University of Michigan and it was his dream to have a Heisman Trophy type award given to the top collegiate golfer in the nation,” said Dr. Bill Barnes, a chairman with the Ben Hogan Award Foundation. “So, he talked it over with Eddie Merrins, who is now the Pro Emeritus out at Bel- Air, and Eddie knew Ben Hogan. Mr. Hogan gave them his blessing to use his name.”
The award stayed at Bel-Air Country Club for the better part of a decade but never reached the heights that Tom Harmon had envisioned. Dr. Barnes, a member at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, decided to do something about that.
“I made some calls and then found myself out at Bel-Air Country Club with Eddie Merrins talking about this Ben Hogan Award of theirs that they had been giving out for maybe 10 years,” Barnes said. “They would identify the top amateur golfer in the nation and usually, their top golfer wouldn’t even show up for the award ceremonies. They were a little discouraged out there. So, we told them about the history of Colonial and how this was Ben Hogan’s backyard. They were very interested.”
And with that, a partnership between the Ben Hogan Award and Colonial Country Club was born. The award banquet ceremony is hosted by Colonial each year in May during the PGA Invitational event in Fort Worth. That certainly adds some excitement for the award’s finalists and gives them more reason to attend. The black tie banquet resembles the Heisman presentation, with three award finalists receiving invitations before one winner is ultimately selected.
Along with the award itself, the winner also receives the first invitation to play in the Colonial Tournament the following year. Additionally, a substantial amount of scholarship money is given out to the schools of the finalists. Last year, winner Doug Ghim earned $30,000 in golf scholarship funds for the University of Texas. Finalists Collin Morikawa of Cal and Braden Thornberry of Ole Miss earned their schools $17,500 apiece. In total, over $90,000 of collegiate golf scholarship money was raised by the Ben Hogan Award Foundation last year alone.
Initially, the award included academic achievement in its original list of standards. Now, the selection committee works closely with the Golf Coaches of America Association (GCAA) and Friends of Golf (FOG) to select its award recipient. The GCAA watch-list usually begins with 20 to 30 total golfers and then that list is cut down to 10 semifinalists. Finally, on May 2nd, that list is whittled down to three finalists, who all receive an invitation to the award ceremony banquet in May.
“The GCAA contributes by identifying the years initial watch-list and then our selection committee is made up of representatives from the PGA, USGA, PGA Tour, Lance Barrow with CBS Sports, Golf Magazine writers…it’s a pretty good who’s who,” said Foundation Chairman Harold Muckelroy. “And one new change this year is that when we narrow it to the final three, all the past winners will have a vote on who is declared the award winner.” The GCAA provides statistics and tournament results to each member of the selection committee to use in casting their final vote.
“It is ultimately each voter’s responsibility to do as much homework as to satisfy their own personal criteria for selecting a winner,” said Hogan Award Foundation Chairman Clif Overcash. Past winners include 2018 Champion Doug Ghim, Maverick McNealy (2017), John Rahm (2015 & 2016), Patrick Cantlay (2012), and Rickie Fowler (2008).
The banquet at Colonial has also had a history of providing phenomenal special guest speakers. In the past, the event has had the privilege of hearing from Dan Jenkins, Lance Barrow, Peter Kostis, Bruce Lietzke, Corey Pavin, Ben Crenshaw, Tom Lehman, Jim Nantz, Lanny Wadkins, and Pat Summerall. This year’s guest speaker is Jon Rahm, the only two-time award winner and currently the number eight ranked player in the world.
For more information on the award or to see how you can give to the Ben Hogan Foundation, visit their website here.
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News
Tour Rundown: Rose blooms, Rory rolls
This week last year, I found myself praying to the weather goddesses and gods that Rochester would be spared their wrath over the next seven days. The 2023 Oak Hill PGA Championship (that was slated for August when the contract was signed) was on the horizon, and I wanted my region to show well. Things turned out fine, with all four seasons making an appearance, a PGA Professional (Blockie!) stealing hearts, and a proven champion in Koepka (although I was pulling for Viktor.)
This year, no concerns. Louisville will shine this week at Valhalla, but we’ve matters to consider before we look to four days of coverage this week. Nelly did not win on the LPGA this week, so who did? The PGA Tour held two events in the Carolinas, and Tour Champions celebrated a major event in Alabama. Four noteworthy events to run down, so let’s head to RunDownTown and take care of business.
LPGA @ Founders Cup: Rose blooms
There was a sense that Rose Zhang might have a role in the 2020s version of the LPGA. After winning everything there was in amateur golf, she came out and won her first tournament as a professional. That was last May and, let’s be honest, who among us thought it would take 12 months for Zhang to win again? Rhymes with hero, I know.
This week in New Jersey, eyes were on Nelly Korda, as she made a run at a sixth consecutive win on the LPGA circuit. Korda ran out of gas on Saturday, and that was just fine. Madelene Sagstrom and Zhang had turned the soiree at Upper Montclair into a battle of birdies. Gabriela Ruffels came third at nine-under par. No one else reached double digits under par but Sagstrom and Zhang. They didn’t just reach -10…they more than doubled it.
Sagstrom had the look of a winner with five holes left to play. She was three shots clear of Zhang, at 23-under par. The Swede played her closing quintet in plus-one, finishing at 22-deep, 13 shots ahead of Ruffels. That performance we’d anticipated from Zhang? It happened on Sunday. She closed with four birdies in five holes to snatch victory number two, by two shots. Spring is a lovely time for a Rose in bloom.
Take a look back at hole No. 1… @rosezhang is living life on the edge ? pic.twitter.com/o6z6SK7TRA
— LPGA (@LPGA) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Wells Fargo: Rory the Fourth is crowned in Charlotte
Xander Schauffele is a likable lad. He has an Olympic gold medal on his shelf, and a few PGA Tour titles to his credit. Even X knows that even par won’t get much done in a final round unless conditions are brutal. They weren’t brutal at Quail Hollow on Sunday. X posted even par on day four. It kept him ahead of third-place finisher Byeong Hun An but gave him zero chance of challenging for the title.
Paired with Xander in round four was the King of Quail, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman had previously won thrice at the North Carolina track, and he was champing at the bit to gain some momentum on the road to Louisville. While Xander scored increasingly worse along the week (64-67-70-71) McIlroy saved his best round for the final round. Thanks to five birdies and two eagles, McIlroy ran away with the event, winning his fourth Wells Fargo by five over Schauffele.
HOLE-OUT EAGLE FOR RORY!!!
He now leads by SIX! pic.twitter.com/UE49lwfwNC
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour @ Myrtle Beach Classic: a little CG won the inaugural week
It always seemed odd that the PGA Tour had zero stops along the Grand Strand each season. This week’s event seemed odd in that the golfers played the same course each day, and there were zero handicaps involved. Most events at Myrtle Beach involve hundreds of amateurs at dozens of courses, with all sorts of handicaps.
The Dunes Club is a Robert Trent Jones Sr. course, down toward Pawley’s Island. It claims what used to be considered an unreachable, par-five hole, the watery 13th. Nothing is unreachable any longer, including a 22-under par total for a six-shot win. Chris Gotterup, a former Rutgers and Oklahoma golfer, played sizzling golf all week and won by a sextet of shots. Gotterup opened with 66, then improved to 64 on Friday. His Saturday 65 sounded a beacon of “come get me,” and his closing 67 ensured that second place was the only thing up for grabs.
Chasing the podium’s second level were a bunch of young Americans. In the end, Alastair Docherty and Davis Thompson reached 16-deep, thanks to rounds of 64 and 68 on Sunday. They held off six golfers at 15-under par. The victory was Gotterup’s first on tour and should be enough to get him a Wikipedia page, among other plaudits.
Leader by SIX!
@ChrisGotterup | @MyrtleBeachC pic.twitter.com/TVdA6ZPYc4— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 12, 2024
PGA Tour Champions @ Regions Traditions: Vindication for Dougie
Doug Barron, if I recall correctly, was suspended by the Powers That Be, way back in 2009, for testosterone. He was naturally low in the hormone, so he took supplements. This did not sit well with certain admins, so he was put on the shelf for 18 months. Not cool.
In 2019, Barron came out on the Tour Champions. He won in August. The next year, despite the craziness of Covid, he won again. Barron hit a dry spell for a few years. He kept his card, but accrued no additional victories. In late April, Barron showed serious signs of life, with a t2 at Mitsubishi. This week in Birmingham, he jumped out to a lead, lost it, then gained it back on Saturday. With major championship glory on the line, Barron brought the train into the station with 68 on Sunday.
Stephen Alker, the man who could not lose just two years ago, gave serious chase with a closing 63. He moved up 11 slots, into solo 2nd on Sunday. He finished two shots back of the champion. Two shots ain’t much. Cough once and you drop a pair. Third place saw a three-way tie, including last year’s winner (Steve Stricker) and runner-up (Ernie Els.) Despite the intimidating presence of the game’s greats, however, Doug Barron had more than enough of everything this week, and he has a third Tour Champions title to show off.
At the @RegionsTrad, all champions receive a green bike.
Doug Barron decided to take a victory lap ? pic.twitter.com/bEzENMjZwv
— PGA TOUR Champions (@ChampionsTour) May 13, 2024
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Equipment
Did Rory McIlroy inspire Shane Lowry’s putter switch?
Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a piece our Andrew Tursky originally wrote for PGATour.com’s Equipment Report. Head over there for the full article.
The timing of Lowry’s putter changeup was curious: Was he just using a Spider putter because he was paired with McIlroy, who’s been using a Spider Tour X head throughout 2024? Was Lowry just being festive because it’s the Zurich Classic, and he wanted to match his teammate? Did McIlroy let Lowry try his putter, and he liked it so much he actually switched into it?
Well, as it turns out, McIlroy’s only influence was inspiring Lowry to make more putts.
When asked if McIlroy had an influence on the putter switch, Lowry had this to say: “No, it’s actually a different putter than what he uses. Maybe there was more pressure there because I needed to hole some more putts if we wanted to win,” he said with a laugh.
To Lowry’s point, McIlroy plays the Tour X model, whereas Lowry switched into the Tour Z model, which has a sleeker shape in comparison, and the two sole weights of the club are more towards the face.
Lowry’s Spider Tour Z has a white True Path Alignment channel on the crown of his putter, which is reminiscent of Lowry’s former 2-ball designs, thus helping to provide a comfort factor despite the departure from his norm. Instead of a double-bend hosel, which Lowry used in his 2-ball putters, his new Spider Tour Z is designed with a short slant neck.
“I’ve been struggling on the greens, and I just needed something with a fresh look,” Lowry told GolfWRX.com on Wednesday at the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship. “It has a different neck on it, as well, so it moves a bit differently, but it’s similar. It has a white line on the back of it [like my 2-ball], and it’s a mallet style. So it’s not too drastic of a change.
“I just picked it up on the putting green and I liked the look of it, so I was like, ‘Let’s give it a go.’”
Read the rest of the piece over at PGATour.com.
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Equipment
Spotted: Tommy Fleetwood’s TaylorMade Spider Tour X Prototype putter
Tommy Fleetwood has been attached to his Odyssey White Hot Pro #3 putter for years now. However, this week at the Wells Fargo Championship, we did spot him testing a new putter that is very different, yet somewhat similar, to his current gamer.
This new putter is a TaylorMade Spider Tour X head but with a brand new neck we haven’t seen on a Spider before. A flow neck is attached to the Spider head and gives the putter about a 1/2 shaft offset. This style neck will usually increase the toe hang of the putter and we can guess it gets the putter close to his White Hot Pro #3.
Another interesting design is that lack of TaylorMade’s True Path alignment on the top of the putter. Instead of the large white center stripe, Tommy’s Spider just has a very short white site line milled into it. As with his Odyssey, Tommy seems to be a fan of soft inserts and this Spider prototype looks to have the TPU Pure Roll insert with 45° grooves for immediate topspin and less hopping and skidding.
The sole is interesting as well in that the rear weights don’t look to be interchangeable and are recessed deep into the ports. This setup could be used to push the CG forward in the putter for a more blade-like feel during the stroke, like TaylorMade did with the Spider X Proto Scottie Scheffler tested out.
Tommy’s putter is finished off with an older Super Stroke Mid Slim 2.0 grip in blue and white. The Mid Slim was designed to fit in between the Ultra Slim 1.0 and the Slim 3.0 that was a popular grip on tour.
- Check out the rest of our photos from the 2024 Wells Fargo Championship
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