/
.
Kohles Repeats as ACC Men's Golf Player of the Year
Story Links
Charlottesville, Va. – The Atlantic Coast Conference announced today Virginia junior men’s golfer Ben Kohles (Cary, N.C.) has been named its Player of the Year for the second season in a row. Kohles also repeated on the All-ACC squad, becoming just the fifth player in school history to earn all-conference honors in back-to-back years.
Kohles becomes just the fifth player in ACC history to earn back-to-back Player of the Year honors since the award was established in 1992. Duke’s Ryan Blaum (2005 & 2006) was the last player to be honored in consecutive seasons. The other players to repeat as player of the year were Georgia Tech’s David Duval (1992 & 1993), Georgia Tech’s Bryce Molder (1999-2001) and Wake Forest’s Bill Haas (2003 & 2004).
Last season Kohles shared the Player of the Year designation with Florida State’s Brooks Koepka. That made Kohles the first UVa golfer to receive ACC Player of the Year honors since Simon Cooke in 1996.
Kohles leads the Cavaliers in stroke average at 71.60 through 35 rounds this season. He has led the team in scoring in seven of the 11 tournaments he has played in this season. Kohles finished first at the Gary Koch Intercollegiate and the John Burns Intercollegiate. A total of 21 of his 35 rounds have been par or better. He placed in the top 10 at tournaments eight times during the season and posted three of the team’s best tournament scores this year. Kohles enters the postseason with five career wins and 17 top-10 finishes.
“When you consider the history of golf in the ACC and all of the truly great players who have competed in the conference, this really is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Virginia head coach Bowen Sargent. “Ben is an amazing young man and has done such a great job competing for our program. I am very happy he has been recognized for this honor.”
The previous UVa golfers who repeated on the all-ACC team were Jimmy Driscoll (1997 & 1998), Tim Dunlavey (1989 & 1990), Dean Smith (1992 & 1993) and Simon Cooke (1994 & 1996).
Voting for the All-ACC team and individual awards is done by the league’s coaches.
2011 All-ACC Men’s Golf Team
(Listed alphabetically by school)
Name …………………………………. School ……………………….. Yr. ………………….. Hometown
Brinson Paolini ………………………… Duke ………………………….. So. …………………. Virginia Beach, Va.
Drew Kittleson ………………………… Florida State ……………….. Sr. …………………. Scottsdale, Ariz.
Brooks Koepka ………………………… Florida State ……………….. Jr…………………… Wellington, Fla.
John-Tyler Griffin ……………………… Georgia Tech ………………… Sr. …………………. Wilson, N.C.
Paul Haley ………………………………. Georgia Tech ………………. Sr. …………………. Dallas, Tex.
Kyle Scott ……………………………….. Georgia Tech ………………. Sr. …………………. Johannesburg, South Africa
James White ……………………………. Georgia Tech ……………….. Jr…………………… Acworth, Ga.
Albin Choi ……………………………….. NC State …………………….. Fr. …………………. Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Mitchell Sutton …………………………. NC State …………………….. So. …………………. London, Ontario, Canada
Ben Kohles …………………………….. Virginia ……………………… Jr…………………… Cary, N.C.
Evan Beck ………………………………. Wake Forest …………………. So. …………………. Virginia Beach, Va.
Lee Bedford …………………………….. Wake Forest …………………. Jr…………………… Cary, N.C.
ACC Player of the Year
Ben Kohles, Virginia
ACC Freshman of the Year
Albin Choi, NC State (unanimous)
ACC Coach of the Year
Bruce Heppler, Georgia Tech