CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia sophomore men’s golfer Ben James (Milford, Conn.) has been named to the 2024 Ben Hogan Award Watch List. James is one of 40 of the nation’s most accomplished collegiate golfers across all levels named to the watch list. The joint announcement was made by the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation, the Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
The Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank annually awards the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer based on all collegiate, amateur and professional events over the previous 12 months.
Last year James won the Phil Mickelson Award as the nation’s top freshman, was one of five finalists for the Jack Nicklaus Award and one of 10 finalists for the Haskins Award. He went on to earn first-team All-America honors and placed sixth at the NCAA Championships. During the summer he helped Team USA to victories at the Palmer Cup and the Walker Cup. In December, he won the South Beach International Amateur.
This fall James led UVA with a 70.44 stroke average in three tournaments. The Cavaliers open their spring season this weekend at the Puerto Rico Classic on Feb. 11-13.
The 2024 Ben Hogan Award watch list, as determined by the award’s subcommittee, includes J.M. Butler (Auburn), Cameron Cappuzzo (Methodist), Tiger Christensen (Arizona), Wenyi Ding (Arizona State), John Driscoll (Arkansas), Mats Ege (East Tennessee State), David Ford (North Carolina), Maxwell Ford (North Carolina), Gustav Frimodt (TCU), Nick Gabrelcik (North Florida), Gaspar Glaudas (Indian Hills CC), Alex Goff (Kentucky), Austin Greaser (North Carolina), Max Herendeen (Illinois), Petr Hruby (Washington), Ben James (Virginia), Johnny Keefer (Baylor), Algot Kleen (East Tennessee State), Jackson Koivun (Auburn), Michael La Sasso (Ole Miss), Christo Lamprecht (Georgia Tech), Hunter Logan (Mississippi State), Christiaan Maas (Texas), Dylan Menante (North Carolina), Maxwell Moldovan (Ohio State), William Moll (Vanderbilt), Omar Morales (UCLA), Sebastian Moss (Louisville), Sangha Park (UT Permian Basin), Luke Powell (UCLA), Matthew Riedel (Vanderbilt), Gordon Sargent (Vanderbilt), Herman Sekne (Purdue), Cole Sherwood (Vanderbilt), Neal Shipley (Ohio State), Preston Summerhays (Arizona State), Will Thompson (East Central CC), Michael Thorbjornsen (Stanford), Brendan Valdes (Auburn) and Jack Whaley (Dalton State).
The list includes 21 seniors, nine juniors, four sophomores and six freshmen. Sargent and Thorbjornsen were two of the three award finalists last year, while David Ford, Gabrelcik, Greaser and Lamprecht were semifinalists in 2023. Seven schools have multiple golfers on the watch list, led by North Carolina and Vanderbilt with four each. Auburn has three, while Arizona State, East Tennessee State, Ohio State and UCLA each have two members.
An esteemed selection committee votes during each stage of the process. The selection committee is comprised of more than 30 leaders in collegiate, amateur and professional golf.
This year’s list of 10 semifinalists, which could include individuals not on the watch list, will be unveiled Friday, April 19. That group will be pared down to three finalists on Thursday, May 2. The finalists will attend a black-tie dinner Monday, May 20, at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, where the winner will be crowned.
The Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank has honored the outstanding amateur collegiate golfer at Colonial Country Club since 2002. Prior to its move to Fort Worth, the original Ben Hogan Trophy, which was awarded based on a different list of criteria, was issued at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles beginning in 1990.
Recipients of the Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank have combined to accumulate 85 worldwide victories, including 64 PGA TOUR wins, and have amassed more than $395 million in prize money on the PGA TOUR. Additionally, the group has appeared in 17 Ryder Cups and a dozen Presidents Cups.
Past recipients are Ludvig Aberg (‘22, ‘23), Ricky Barnes (‘03), Patrick Cantlay (‘12), Matt Every (‘06), Rickie Fowler (‘08), Doug Ghim (‘18), Bill Haas (‘04), Viktor Hovland (‘19), Chris Kirk (‘07), Hunter Mahan (‘03), Maverick McNealy (‘17), Ryan Moore (‘05), John Pak (‘21), Jon Rahm (‘15, ‘16), Patrick Rodgers (‘14), Kyle Stanley (‘09), Nick Taylor (‘10), Sahith Theegala (‘20), D.J. Trahan (‘02), Peter Uihlein (‘11) and Chris Williams (‘13).