April 18, 2013
STANFORD, Calif. - For the second consecutive year Patrick Rodgers has advanced to the semifinalist round for the Ben Hogan Award, as announced earlier this afternoon by The Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
Rodgers holds five collegiate titles overall and leads the Cardinal with a 70.5 stroke average in nine events (27 rounds) and has six top-10 finishes including three collegiate titles on the season.
During the fall, Rodgers defended his Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini title with a five stroke victory (72-68-67-207). The sophomore went on to win the U.S. Collegiate by seven strokes after carding rounds of 70-72-67 (209).
This spring Rodgers captured the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters title (66-73-73-212) in a sudden death four-man playoff against California's Michael Kim, Alabama's Cory Whitsett and New Mexico's James Erkenbeck. He birdied the 18th twice to get in the playoff and win the individual medal.
Last year, Rodgers was one of three finalists for the Ben Hogan Award, the most prestigious award in men's college golf. The Pac-12 Freshman of the Year completed a stroke average of 70.7 and captured 10 top-10 finishes in 12 events, including victories at the Fighting Illini Invitational and Western Intercollegiate.
Rodgers' selection represents the eighth consecutive year Stanford has been represented with a Ben Hogan Award watch list nominee, which is currently the longest active streak by any school.
The 10-player semifinalist list: Julien Brun of TCU, Albin Choi of NC State, Sean Dale of North Florida, Michael Kim of California, Cheng-Tsung Pan of Washington, Patrick Rodgers of Stanford, Brandon Stone of Texas, Justin Thomas of Alabama, Chris Williams of Washington and Bobby Wyatt of Alabama.
The three Ben Hogan Award finalists will be announced on May 8 and those individuals will be invited to the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, for the award presentation on May 20.
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