Cummins, Reband, Eckroat on Ben Hogan Award watch list
FORT WORTH – Thirty-one of the nation’s most accomplished collegiate golfers have been named to the 2020 Ben Hogan Award watch list, according to a joint announcement made by the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation, the Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
The list includes Quade Cummins and Garrett Reband of the University of Oklahoma and Austin Eckroat of Oklahoma State University.
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.
Last year, former Cowboy standout Viktor Hovland became the fourth Cowboy to garner the award since it revised its criteria in 2002, joining Hunter Mahan (2003), Rickie Fowler (2008) and Peter Uihlein (2011).
The 2020 Ben Hogan Award watch list, as determined by the award’s subcommittee, 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), Andy Ogletree (Georgia Tech), 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), Luke Schniederjans (Georgia Tech), Tyler Strafaci (Georgia 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.
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.
A native of Edmond, Okla., Eckroat was named a second-team All-American a year ago by Golfweek Magazine and a third-team pick by the GCAA. The junior was named a first-team All-Big 12 selection as well as an Academic All-Big 12 honoree.
Eckroat competed at the 2019 U.S. Open and was named to the 2019 U.S. Palmer Cup squad as well.
Cummins, a member of the 2019 U.S. Palmer Cup and two time Big 12 Golfer of the Month, is a key leader for the Sooner squad. In the fall, Cummins posted a scoring average of 68.83 and fired his career record low of 62 (-9) at the Ka’anapali Classic. The senior was recently slotted No. 7 in the latest Palmer Cup rankings and is one of only eight players to be listed in both 2019 and 2020.
Reband is another key component of the Sooner lineup. The senior finished the fall with a 68.92 scoring average in the fall, finishing in the top 10 in all fall events. His spring season began with a first at the Puerto Rico Classic. The Fort Worth, Texas, native is ranked ninth in the latest Palmer Cup Rankings.
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.