FORT WORTH, Texas – Just hours after being named the Pac-12 Men's Golfer of the Year, junior Michael Thorbjornsen has been announced as one of three finalists for the prestigious Ben Hogan Award. Thorbjornsen is joined by Texas Tech's Ludvig Aberg and Vanderbilt's Gordon Sargent.
Thorbjornsen, a first-time finalist, looks to join Patrick Rodgers (2014) and Maverick McNealy (2017) as Hogan Award winners.
A native of Wellesley, Mass., Thorbjornsen ranks second in the AmateurGolf.com rankings and third in the WAGR, Golfstat rankings and Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. The 2023 Pac-12 Champion, Thorbjornsen played solo fourth at the 2022 Travelers Championship, the highest finish by an amateur on the PGA Tour since 2016 and just the 12th Top-10 by an amateur on Tour since 2000. He also logged a Top-20 finish at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour.
Thorbjornsen played in the 2022 U.S. Open and was a member of the United States' Palmer Cup squad, a team which he has earned the right to join again this upcoming summer. He advanced to match play at both the U.S. Amateur and the Western Amateur.
A two-time collegiate winner this season, Thorbjornsen's 68.96 scoring average is on pace to break the school record (Maverick McNealy, 69.05, 2014-15) and would be the third-lowest in league history and top-5 in NCAA history.
The Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank annually awards the top men's NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer based on all collegiate, amateur and professional events over the previous 12 months. Three of the top 12 players in the Official World Golf Ranking—Masters champion and World No. 1 Rahm (2015, 2016), No. 4 Cantlay (2012) and No. 12 Viktor Hovland (2019)—are past recipients of the honor.
The Finalists will attend a black-tie dinner Monday, May 22, at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, where the winner will be crowned. The winner will receive an exemption into the PGA TOUR's 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge, played annually at Colonial.
The award's selection committee, which votes during each stage of the process, is made up of nearly three dozen leaders and experts in professional, amateur and collegiate golf both domestically and internationally. In addition, past recipients will be eligible to vote on the final ballot.
The Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank began honoring the outstanding amateur collegiate golfer at Colonial Country Club in 2002. Prior to its move to Fort Worth, the original Ben Hogan Trophy, which utilized a different set of criteria for its winner, was issued at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles beginning in 1990.
Hogan Award winners at Colonial have combined to accumulate 76 worldwide victories, including 57 PGA TOUR wins, and have amassed more than $390 million in prize money on the PGA TOUR and DP World Tour. Additionally, the group has appeared in 12 Ryder Cups, a dozen Presidents Cups and won two FedEx Cup championships.
Since 2002, the Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank has distributed over $900,000 in scholarships and donations to more than 30 universities and charities. For more information, visit TheBenHoganAward.org and follow @BenHoganAward on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
Previous Ben Hogan Award Winners at Colonial Country Club
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); Patrick Rodgers, Stanford (2014); Jon Rahm, Arizona State (2015, 2016); Maverick McNealy, Stanford (2017); Doug Ghim, Texas (2018); Viktor Hovland, Oklahoma State (2019); Sahith Theegala, Pepperdine (2020); John Pak, Florida State (2021); and Ludvig Aberg, Texas Tech (2022).