UMKC senior Antoine Rozner is one of 25 golfers named to the 2016 Ben Hogan Award watch list the Colonial Country Club, the Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced today.
“I am very proud to be on such a list,” Rozner said. “It is a huge accomplishment to be recognized as one of the best players in the country. The Ben Hogan Award is the most prestigious award in college golf and being on the watch list means a lot. When you look at the names of the previous winners and realize that all the guys are the top players in the world now, it makes me truly believe that I can be one of those kind of players too.”
The most prestigious award in men’s college golf, 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 the past 12-month period. The Ben Hogan Award selection committee, which votes during each stage of the process, is comprised of leaders in professional, amateur and collegiate golf.
“It’s such a tremendous honor to be even be considered for the award that bears Mr. Hogan’s name,” UMKC Head Coach J.W. VanDenBorn said. “It certainly speaks to Antoine’s commitment and dedication. It’s been a privilege to have him in our program and we are all very excited to see where he goes from here.”
This season, Rozner has notched the second lowest scoring average in the NCAA at 68.67, the lowest in UMKC history, while winning the individual titles at the Mark Simpson Invitational and the Price’s “Give ‘Em 5” Invitational. The two titles give him four in his career, the second most in school history. The Paris, France, native has broken a pair of UMKC records already this year with a round of 63 at the Price’s “Give ‘Em 5” Invitational and a tournament score of 197 in the same event. Currently, Rozner ranks second on Team Europe in the Palmer Cup standings, second by the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) among Frenchmen, fifth in the GolfStat Cup, ninth in Golfstat, 11th by WAGR among Europeans, 31st by WAGR, 32nd by Golfweek and 52nd by Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking.
The list of 10 semifinalists, which could include individuals not on the watch list, will be unveiled on Wednesday, April 13. On Tuesday, May 3, that group will be pared down to three finalists. The finalists will attend a black-tie banquet at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday, May 23, prior to the start of the PGA TOUR’s Colonial National Invitation Tournament, where the winner will be crowned. Last year’s Colonial champion, Chris Kirk (Georgia) won the 2007 Ben Hogan Award after finishing as a finalist in 2006.
This is the first ever appearance by a ‘Roo golfer on the watch list.
Joining Rozner on the watch list are:
Watch List Candidates
Name – School, Year, Hometown
Dawson Armstrong – Lipscomb, So., Brentwood, Tenn.
Derek Bard – Virginia, Jr., New Hartford, N.Y.
Sean Crocker – Southern California, So., Westlake Village, Calif.
Charlie Danielson – Illinois, Sr., Osceola, Wis.
Thomas Detry – Illinois, Sr., Brussels, Belgium
Jonathan Garrick – UCLA, Sr., Atherton, Calif.
Nick Hardy – Illinois, So., Northbrook, Ill.
Rico Hoey – Southern California, Jr., Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
Sam Horsfield – Florida, Fr., Davenport, Fla.
Beau Hossler – Texas, Jr., Mission Viejo, Calif.
Michael Johnson – Auburn, Sr., Birmingham, Ala.
Hank Lebioda – Florida State, Sr., Winter Springs, Fla.
Lee McCoy – Georgia, Sr., Clarkesville, Ga.
Maverick McNealy – Stanford, Jr., Portola Valley, Calif.
Matthew NeSmith – South Carolina, Sr., North Augusta, S.C.
Jordan Niebrugge – Oklahoma State, Sr., Mequon, Wis.
Corey Pereira – Washington, Jr., Cameron Park, Calif.
Jon Rahm – Arizona State, Sr., Barrika, Spain
Antoine Rozner – UMKC, Sr., Paris, France
Matthias Schwab – Vanderbilt, Jr., Rohrmoos, Austria
Robby Shelton – Alabama, Jr., Wilmer, Ala.
Aaron Wise – Oregon, So., Lake Elsinore, Calif.
Adam Wood – Duke, So., Zionsville, Ind.
Cameron Young – Wake Forest, Fr., Scarborough, N.Y.
Will Zalatoris – Wake Forest, So., Plano, Texas
The Blue & Gold return to action on Feb. 20-21 at the Suntrust Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., as they continue their spring season.
– 2015-16 Missouri-Kansas City Men’s Golf