March 7, 2003
NORMAN, Okla. -- The Friends of Golf (FOG) and Colonial Country Club, in cooperation with the Bank of America and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), have named Northwestern's Tom Johnson (Sacramento, Calif./Del Campo) to its 2003 Ben Hogan Award watch list. He is one of 20 golfers up for the award, which is presented annually to the top men's NCAA Division I, II or III or NAIA golfer.
Taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the last 12 months, the watch list also includes 2002 Hogan Award recipient D.J. Trahan of Clemson, U.S. Amateur champion Ricky Barnes of Arizona and 2002 Arnold Palmer Award winners Troy Matteson of Georgia Tech and Chico State's J.J. Jakovac.
"Obviously, the list represents the finest players across the country at all levels of college golf," stated GCAA Executive Director Gregg Grost. "I feel it's significant that we see individuals from all areas of the country on the list as well as international players. It's important to note that the Hogan Award winner does not necessarily have to come from individuals on this list, however, at this time the committee feels that this group has stepped to the front during the past nine months."
Johnson is presently ranked 11th nationally in the Golfweek/Sagarin player index. He has four top-three finishes in six tournaments this year. Johnson won the 2002 Windon Memorial Classic title with a tourney-record 10-under and shot a record 6-under 66 in the final round. He also placed second at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational, and third at both the Inverness Intercollegiate and Rice Intercollegiate events. He has fired 11 rounds at even par or lower (out of 18) this year.
The Hogan Award selection committee will select 10 semifinalists on April 11 and name five finalists on April 25. The winner of the Hogan Award will be announced May 9 and the presentation banquet will be held at Colonial Country Club on May 19, the Monday prior to the Bank of America Colonial.