Coloradan Wyndham Clark, fresh off his victory in the Pac-12 Conference Championship Sunday in his home state at Boulder Country Club, on Wednesday was named one of three finalists for the Ben Hogan Award, given annually to the top men’s college golfer taking into account all amateur competitions over the past 12 months.
Joining Clark — a fifth-year senior at the University of Oregon — as a finalist were Stanford senior Maverick McNealy and Illinois junior Dylan Meyer. McNealy, a three-time Hogan finalist, is the No 1.-ranked amateur in the world. But on Sunday at Boulder Country Club, Clark finished first and McNealy fourth in the Pac-12 tournament. Meyer is No. 5 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings and Clark is No. 36.
The three finalists will attend a black-tie dinner at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas on May 22, when the winner of the award will be announced. That winner will be exempt into the 2018 Dean & DeLuca Invitational on the PGA Tour.
Clark, winner of the 2010 CGA Amateur as a 16-year-old and a two-time Colorado state high school champion, has recorded three individual wins this college season. Overall, he’s posted 10 top-10 finishes in 11 tournaments this season, with his worst showing being 13th place. He’s been runner-up three times and owns a 69.45 stroke average, with 18 of his 31 round scores being in the 60s.
On Friday, the former Big 12 Player of the Year at Oklahoma State earned the Pac-12 Player of the Year honors at his new school.
Clark (pictured with Oregon coach Casey Martin) is currently the No. 1-ranked men’s college player in the nation, according to both Golfstat and Golfweek. He’s also qualified for five U.S. Amateurs, making it to the round of 32 last year.
Clark plans to turn pro within a month and he’s already earned status on PGA Tour Canada.
Among the Hogan Award winners are Jon Rahm (2015 and ’16), Rickie Fowler (2008), Ryan Moore (2005), Bill Haas (2004) and Hunter Mahan (2003).
