Alabama Men’s Golfer Robby Shelton Named a Semifinalist for Ben Hogan Award

Alabama sophomore Robby Shelton has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2015 Ben Hogan Award presented by the Colonial Country Club, Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Coaches Association of America (GCAA). It marks the second consecutive season that Shelton has earned a spot among the award’s semifinalists.

Shelton, a sophomore from Wilmer, Ala., has been a force throughout the season for the nationally-ranked Crimson Tide men’s golf team. Heading into this weekend’s Southeastern Conference Championships, Shelton is ranked No. 7 in the nation according to the Golfweek/Sagarin performance index. He leads the Tide in scoring average (70.44), which includes eight top-10 finishes (in nine tournaments) and is a combined 27-under par on the season.

Furthermore, Shelton, who is the only sophomore in the nation to be named as a semifinalist for the prestigious award, has six top-six finishes, including winning the Southern Highlands Masters in mid-March. He is also among the running to earn a spot on the 2015 United States Palmer Cup team, which will be announced on April 17.

The Ben Hogan Award is presented annually to the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA collegiate golfer. Considerations for the award take into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during a 12-month period. Alabama has had at least one semifinalist in eight consecutive years (Michael Thompson-2008; Bud Cauley-2009, 2010, 2011; Justin Thomas-2012, 2013; Bobby Wyatt-2013, 2014; Robby Shelton-2014, 2015), which is the longest active streak in the country.

Other semifinalists for this year’s award include New Mexico’s Gavin Green, Texas’ Beau Hossler, Baylor’s Kyle Jones, Georgia’s Lee McCoy, Stanford’s Maverick McNealy, Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan, Arizona State’s John Rahm, Georgia Tech’s Ollie Schniederjans and Vanderbilt’s Hunter Stewart.

On Wednesday, May 6, the list of 10 semifinalists will be pared down to three finalists. The three finalists will attend a black-tie banquet at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday, May 18, where the winner will be crowned.

Shelton and the Tide will return to action on April 17-19 when it competes at the SEC Championships at the Sea Island Golf Course in Sea Island, Ga.

Hogan Award Semifinalists
(in alphabetical order)

Gavin Green, New Mexico
Beau Hossler, Texas
Kyle Jones, Baylor
Lee McCoy, Georgia
Maverick McNealy, Stanford
Cheng-Tsung Pan, Washington
Jon Rahm, Arizona State
Ollie Schniederjans, Georgia Tech
Robby Shelton, Alabama
Hunter Stewart, Vanderbilt