Dalke, Bauchou, Overstreet named to Ben Hogan Award watch list
Oklahoma junior Brad Dalke, Oklahoma State junior Zach Bauchou and Arkansas sophomore Mason Overstreet from Kingfisher have been named to the watch list for the 2018 Ben Hogan Award.
Presented by Konica Minolta, the Ben Hogan Award presented by Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., Inc. (Konica Minolta) is issued 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. The Ben Hogan Award Selection Committee, which votes during each stage of the process, is comprised of leaders in collegiate, amateur and professional golf.
Dalke, a PING Honorable Mention All-American last year, helped the Sooners claim the 2017 NCAA Championship a year ago. In the fall, Dalke posted a team-best scoring average of 69.85. The junior was recently slotted No. 8 in the latest Palmer Cup rankings.
In four starts this season, Bauchou has three top 10s and a tie for 11th place. He is currently ranked ninth in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings. Last summer, the Forest, Va., native became the 22nd American to win the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, tied for 19th during the stroke play portion of the U.S. Amateur and tied for third place at the Sunnehanna Amateur.
Coming off a runner-up finish at the NCAA National Championship a season ago, Overstreet has the No. 10 stroke average in the country as a sophomore at 69.2, including five top 20 finishes in six starts.
He has 12 rounds under par this season and captured his first collegiate victory at the Jerry Pate Invitational, finishing 10-under par, including back-to-back 5-under 65’s. Overstreet also added an amateur title to his name in December, winning the Patriot All-America Invitational, one of the most prestigious amateur events in the country.
The list of 10 semifinalists, which could include individuals not on the watch list, will be unveiled on Wednesday, April 11. On Wednesday, May 2, that group will be pared down to three finalists. The finalists will attend a black-tie dinner at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday, May 21, prior to the start of the annual PGA TOUR stop at Colonial, where the winner will be crowned.
The award, which was first issued in 1990 and also included academic achievement in its original list of standards, revised its criteria for the 2001-02 collegiate season to its current standard of honoring the outstanding amateur collegiate golfer.
Winners of the Ben Hogan Award include seven golfers currently ranked in the top 100 in the Official World Gold Rankings-Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Cantlay, Kyle Stanley, Peter Uihlein, Bill Haas and Ryan Moore. Other recipients include: Ricky Barnes, Matt Every, Chris Kirk, Hunter Mahan, Maverick McNealy, Patrick Rodgers, Nick Taylor, D.J. Trahan and Chris Williams.
Watch List Candidates
Dawson Armstrong, Lipscomb, Sr., Brentwood, Tenn.
Braden Bailey, Baylor, Jr., Groves, Texas
Shintaro Ban, UNLV, Sr., San Jose, Calif.
Zach Bauchou, Oklahoma State, Jr., Forest, Va.
Chandler Blanchet, West Florida, Sr., Gainesville, Fla.
Brad Dalke, Oklahoma, Jr., Norman, Okla.
Harry Ellis, Florida State, Sr., Southampton, England
Patrick Fishburn, BYU, Sr., Ogden, Utah
Steven Fisk, Georgia Southern, Jr., Stockbridge, Ga.
Doug Ghim, Texas, Sr., Arlington Heights, Ill.
Will Gordon, Vanderbilt, Jr., Davidson, N.C.
Theo Humphrey, Vanderbilt, Sr., Greenwich, Conn.
S.M. Lee, Dalton State, So., Buford, Ga.
Patrick Martin, Vanderbilt, Jr., Birmingham, Ala.
Dylan Meyer, Illinois, Sr., Evansville, Ind.
Collin Morikawa, California, Jr., La Canada Flintridge, Calif.
Fredrik Nilehn, Texas Tech, Sr., Goteborg, Sweden
Bryson Nimmer, Clemson, Jr., Bluffton, S.C.
Mason Overstreet, Arkansas, So., Kingfisher, Okla.
Chandler Phillips, Texas A&M, Jr., Huntsville, Texas
Doc Redman, Clemson, So., Raleigh, N.C.
Davis Riley, Alabama, Jr., Hattiesburg, Miss.
Justin Suh, Southern California, Jr., San Jose, Calif.
Sahith Theegala, Pepperdine, Jr., Chino Hills, Calif.
Braden Thornberry, Ole Miss, Jr., Olive Branch, Miss.
Brandon Wu, Stanford, Jr., Danville, Calif.
Norman Xiong, Oregon, So., Canyon Lake, Calif.
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