CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia sophomore golfer Ben James (Milford, Conn.) is one of 10 semifinalists for the 2024 Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank, which is annually awarded to 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.
Determined by voting from the award’s selection committee, the 2024 Ben Hogan Award semifinalists are Luke Clanton (Florida State), Wenyi Ding (Arizona State), David Ford (North Carolina), Nick Gabrelcik (North Florida), Ben James (Virginia), Jackson Koivun (Auburn), Christo Lamprecht (Georgia Tech), Gordon Sargent (Vanderbilt), Preston Summerhays (Arizona State) and Michael Thorbjornsen (Stanford).
The list includes three seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen. Four conferences are home to semifinalists, led by the ACC with four honorees. The other leagues represented are the Pac-12 (three), SEC (two) and ASUN (one).
James currently leads UVA with a 69.95 stroke average and has five top-10 outings in eight tournament events this season. During the past year, James helped the USGA’s 10-man team win the Walker Cup at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland and was a member of Team USA that won the Palmer Cup. Last summer he advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 U.S. Amateur.
James is coming off an accolade-filled freshman year at Virginia, where he was named winner of the 2023 Phil Mickelson Outstanding Freshman Award, a First-Team Ping All-American, ACC Freshman of the Year and a finalist for both the Haskins and Jack Nicklaus Awards.
He finished sixth at the NCAA Championships, set the UVA record with five first-place finishes and finished in the top six in 11 of 13 tournaments.
He and the Cavaliers will compete at the ACC Championships in Charlotte, N.C., this week. That event runs April 19-22.
The three finalists selected from this list of 10 golfers will be named on Tuesday, May 7. 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 as the Charles Schwab Challenge week kicks off.
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.
An esteemed selection committee, comprised of more than 30 leaders in collegiate, amateur and professional golf, votes during each stage of the process.
Recipients of the Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank have combined to accumulate 88 worldwide victories, including 66 PGA TOUR wins, and have amassed more than $420 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 Åberg (‘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).
Since 2002, the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation has awarded over $875,000 in scholarships to more than 30 universities. For more information on the Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank, visit TheBenHoganAward.org and follow @BenHoganAward on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
2024 Semifinalists
Luke Clanton, Florida State, So., Hialeah, Fla.
Wenyi Ding, Arizona State, Fr., Beijing, China
David Ford, North Carolina, Jr., Peachtree Corners, Ga.
Nick Gabrelcik, North Florida, Sr., Trinity, Fla.
Ben James, Virginia, So., Milford, Conn.
Jackson Koivun, Auburn, Fr., Chapel Hill, N.C.
Christo Lamprecht, Georgia Tech, Sr., George, South Africa
Gordon Sargent, Vanderbilt, Jr., Birmingham, Ala.
Preston Summerhays, Arizona State, Jr., Scottsdale, Ariz.
Michael Thorbjornsen, Stanford, Sr., Wellesley, Mass.