Fort Worth, Texas--Colonial Country Club, Friends of Golf (FOG), and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced Monday evening that Arizona State junior Jon Rahm is the recipient of the 2015 Ben Hogan Award, the most prestigious award in men’s college golf. Rahm, the No. 1 player in the World Amateur Golf Ranking and No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, is the first Sun Devil to receive the award since its inception in 1990.
Rahm, fresh off a first-place finish at the NCAA San Diego Regional, won the Bill Cullum Invitational in the fall and nabbed back-to-back wins this spring at the Oregon Duck Invitational and the ASU Thunderbird Invitational. He has posted 24 rounds (out of 37) in the 60s, and has a 68.78 stroke average, second-best in the nation. His 4.47 scoring average on par-5 holes is the best in the nation and he is tied for most eagles carded on the season, with 10.
Rahm's 12-under 272 (70-68-66-68) at the Waste Management Open in late January fell just short of his quest to be the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since Sun Devil Phil Mickelson won the Northern Telecom Open in 1991, but that certainly did not diminish what happened during the week. He hit 51 of 72 greens in regulation and had an average drive of more than 300 yards. The only amateur in the field of 132, the two-time honorable mention All-American had his way with the par-71, 7,266-yard TPC Scottsdale layout. He became the first amateur to finish in the top-five of a PGA TOUR event since Chris Wood (fifth) at the 2008 British Open and Justin Rose (tied for fourth) at the 1998 British Open.
RAHM TROPHY CASE: Junior Jon Rahm has seven career wins, which ranks third-most in Sun Devil history. Only Billy Mayfair (eight) and Phil Mickelson (16) are ahead of him. He has won seven collegiate tournaments in three states (Arizona, California, and Oregon).
MOST @ASUMENSGOLF TOURNAMENT WINS
Phil Mickelson (1988-92), 16
Billy Mayfair (1984-88), 8
Jon Rahm (2012-Present), 7
Alejandro Canizares (2002-06), 6
Charlie Gibson (1972-75), 6
Paul Casey (1997-2000), 6
JON RAHM SEVEN TOURNAMENT WINS
NCAA San Diego Regional (May 14-16, 2015)
ASU Thunderbird Invitational (April 3-4, 2015)
Duck Invitational (Mar. 23-24, 2015)
Bill Cullum Invitational (Oct. 20-21, 2014)
ASU Thunderbird Invitational (Mar. 21-23, 2014)
San Diego Classic (Mar. 11-12, 2013)
Bill Cullum Invitational (Oct. 21-22, 2012)
With Rahm's win, the Hogan Award winner has come from a Pac-12 school for four straight years (Patrick Cantlay, 2012; Chris Williams, 2013; Patrick Rodgers, 2014). This year's finalists, also from the Pac-12, included Maverick McNealy (Stanford) and Cheng-Tsung Pan (Washington). This marked the first time that all three finalists played in the same conference.
The Ben Hogan Award is given to the top collegiate golfer – including all NCAA, NAIA, and NJCAA divisions – considering all collegiate and amateur competitions, as decided by a 25-person committee. For more information on The Ben Hogan Award, visit TheBenHoganAward.org and follow @BenHoganAward on Twitter.