Three Finalists Named for 2010 Ben Hogan Award


Three golfers have been named as finalists for the 2010 Ben Hogan Award, emblematic of the year's top collegiate player. The finalists include Bud Cauley of Alabama, Georgia's Russell Henley and Nick Taylor of Washington.

As the most prestigious award in men's college golf, the Hogan is presented annually to the top men's NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA golfer, taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during a 12-month period.

A native of Abbotsford, B.C., Taylor was named Pac-10 Co-Golfer of the Year for the second straight season. He is the only Husky to ever win the conference's top player award and is just the fifth golfer in the league's history to win multiple times. Taylor led the Huskies in multiple categories. He was a top-10 finisher in nine of 11 events and had a team-best scoring average of 70.73. He led the squad with 18 rounds played under par and shot 10 rounds in the 60s to equal teammate Richard Lee's total.

Although no Husky golfer has ever won the golf-equivalent of the Heisman Trophy, two players from the state of Washington have won it in the past: Kyle Stanley (Clemson, 2009) and Ryan Moore (UNLV, 2005). The only Pac-10 player to ever win the award was Arizona's Ricky Barnes in 2003.

Cauley, of Jacksonville, Fla., was named first-team All-SEC for the second time. He won the Players Amateur and posted top-10 finishes in the Northeast Amateur, Dixie Amateur and Master of the Amateurs. Cauley advanced to the semifinals of the Western Amateur and competed in both the Walker Cup and Palmer Cup last summer. This season at Alabama, Cauley won the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational and the Linger Longer. He has posted a total of four top-10 finishes.

Henley, who tied for ninth at the 2009 NCAA Championship, was named SEC Player of the Year after winning three events this season: the Brickyard Collegiate Championship, Wendy's Charleston Shootout and SEC Championship, and posting four other top 10s. Henley won the Georgia State Amateur, finished second in the Dogwood Invitational and recently tied for 34th at the Nationwide Tour's Athens Stadion Classic. Henley will represent the United States at this summer's Palmer Cup at Royal Portrush.

The finalists were announced on Golfweek TV. To view the video, visit http://www.golfweek.com/videos/2010/may/10/449/.

The three finalists will attend the Hogan Award Banquet at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Hogan Award presentation on the evening of May 24.

Past recipients are represented on the PGA Tour, Nationwide and European Tours, as well as the Ryder and Presidents Cup Teams. Since 2001, when the award criteria shifted towards competitive playing accomplishments, recipient and finalist names represent some of the PGA Tour's brightest young stars. The list includes Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas, Nick Watney, Hunter Mahan, D.J. Trahan, Moore and Fowler to name a few.

The award is presented annually by Chesapeake Energy, in association with Colonial Country Club, The Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America.