By Cal Aboud, SDA Media Relations Student Assistant
TEMPE, Ariz – Sun Devil senior Jon Rahm was one of 25 collegiate golfers named to the 2016 Ben Hogan watch list Wednesday afternoon, according to a joint announcement made by Colonial Country Club, the Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
The Ben Hogan Award often deemed the most reputable honor in collegiate golf, is issued annually to the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the past 12-month period.
The list of 10 semifinalists, which could include individuals not on the watch list, will be unveiled on Wednesday, April 13. On Tuesday, May 3, that group will be trimmed down to three finalists. The finalists will attend a black-tie banquet at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday, May 23, prior to the start of the PGA TOUR’s Colonial National Invitation Tournament, where the winner will be crowned.
Rahm, the 2015 winner of the prestigious award and the first Sun Devil in program history to take home the honor, looks to become the first player ever to bear the title twice.
The Barrika, Spain native is one of the most accomplished golfers to ever don the Maroon and Gold. The World Amateur No. 1, has eight-career tournament wins to his credit, placing him tied for second with Sun Devil Hall of Famer Billy Mayfair in program history.
Propelling him even further into Arizona State lore, the Sun Devil swinger is a first team All-American, the reigning recipient of the McCormack Medal granted to No. 1 golfer in WAGR, winner of the 2014 World Amateur, back-to-back champion of the Spanish Amateur, and the list goes on.
Rahm has proven time and time again he is capable of excelling at all levels of golf, and is a two-time, top-ten finisher on the PGA Tour. Most notably, the Sun Devil, wearing a #42 Pat Tillman Jersey fired a 54-hole, 12-under, 272, in front of an eccentric crowd at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, earning him a fifth-place finish (Jan. 29-Feb. 2/2015). Rahm is the just the second amateur golfer since Justin Rose tied for fourth at the 1998 British Open, to accomplish a top-five finish in a PGA Tour event.
The Sun Devil senior is currently off to a great start here at the dawn of the spring season. Carding a 54-hole seven-under par, 209, en route to placing tied for eighth at this past weeks Amer Ari Invitational, Rahm now has 27 career top-10 finishes at Arizona State.
During the fall campaign, Rahm posted four top-10 finishes in four events, while garnering his eighth-career tournament win at the Tavistock Invitational.
Coming off a third-place finish at the Amer Ari, Arizona State men’s golf returns to action this coming week (Feb.15-17) at The Prestige.