STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford senior Maverick McNealy has been named one of three finalists for the Ben Hogan Award, as announced Wednesday by Colonial Country Club, Friends of Golf and the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Oregon senior Wyndham Clark and Illinois junior Dylan Meyer also were named finalists for the award given annually to the top men's college golfer, taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions over the past 12 months.
McNealy is a three-time finalist for the award. This is the sixth occasion that a Stanford golfer has been a finalist, while Oregon and Illinois are being represented for the first time.
Stanford could join Oklahoma State (3), Washington (2) and Clemson (2) as schools with multiple winners since 2002. Since 2012, Stanford has boasted six finalists courtesy of Patrick Rodgers (2012, 2014), Cameron Wilson (2014) and McNealy (2015, 2016, 2017).
The three student-athletes will attend a black-tie dinner at Colonial Country Club on May 22, where the winner will be crowned. The Ben Hogan Award recipient will receive exemption into the PGA Tour's 2018 Dean & DeLuca Invitational, as well as earn a $30,000 grant for its men's golf scholarship program.
McNealy sits atop the World Amateur Golf Ranking, and was the winner of the Mark H. McCormack Gold Medal as the year's No. 1 player. He represented the United States at the 2016 World Amateur Team Championship and has been named to Team USA for the 2017 Arnold Palmer Cup. He is ranked 12th in the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking.
The product of Portola Valley, California, is listed third in both the Golfstat and Golfweek rankings. McNealy carries a 70.00 stroke average over 26 rounds, with eight top-20 finishes in 10 events, including five top-fives. His fall victory at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational at Colonial Country Club was his 11th career win, tying him with Tiger Woods and 2014 Hogan Award winner Patrick Rodgers for most in school history.
He is one of five players currently ranked among the top 12 in all four major college and amateur ranking systems. McNealy, who also was a finalist in 2015 and 2016, is the second three-time finalist ever, joining Wake Forest's Bill Haas (2002-04).
Winners of the Hogan Award include: D.J. Trahan (Clemson, 2002), Ricky Barnes (Arizona, 2003), Hunter Mahan (Oklahoma State, 2003), Bill Haas (Wake Forest, 2004), Ryan Moore (UNLV, 2005), Matt Every (Florida, 2006), Chris Kirk (Georgia, 2007), Rickie Fowler (Oklahoma State, 2008), Kyle Stanley (Clemson, 2009), Nick Taylor (Washington, 2010), Peter Uihlein (Oklahoma State, 2011), Patrick Cantlay (UCLA, 2012), Chris Williams (Washington, 2013), Rodgers (Stanford, 2014) and Jon Rahm (Arizona State, 2015 and 2016).