Sam Bennett’s April just got a little sweeter.
Eight days after the Texas A&M fifth-year senior tied for 16th at the Masters to earn low-amateur honors at Augusta National, Bennett was among 10 Ben Hogan Award semifinalists announced on Monday by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
The Hogan Award, which is voted on by a committee of almost three dozen experts, annually awards the top men’s college golfer, regardless of division, by considering all college, amateur and professional results. Bennett, a Hogan Award semifinalist last year, is ranked No. 50 in Golfstat with just one college win this season, but he is the world’s sixth-ranked amateur with a made cut at the U.S. Open (T-49) and a U.S. Amateur title on his resumé to go along with his impressive showing at Augusta National.
Joining Bennett as semifinalists: Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg, Illinois’ Adrien Dumont de Chassart, North Carolina’s David Ford, North Florida’s Nick Gabrelcik, North Carolina’s Austin Greaser, Georgia Tech’s Christo Lamprecht, Pepperdine’s William Mouw, Vanderbilt’s Gordon Sargent and Stanford’s Michael Thorbjornsen.
Aberg, the reigning Hogan Award winner, is No. 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking with two college wins and three made cuts in either PGA or DP World tour events, plus a quarterfinal appearance at the British Amateur last summer.
Sargent missed the cut at the Masters, but he has three college wins and is the No. 1 player in Golfstat.
Thorbjornsen won one of the toughest college events, at Olympia Fields, in the fall while last summer he qualified for the U.S. Open and then tied for fourth at the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship.
Ford has a couple elite amateur wins, at the Southern Amateur and Jones Cup, as well as a victory at the Jackson T. Stephens Cup at Seminole.
The three finalists will be revealed on May 4 with the winner being crowned during a black-tie dinner on May 22 at Colonial Country Club. The recipient receives an invite into the PGA Tour event at Colonial in 2024.
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