FORT WORTH, Texas – Auburn men's golfers J.M. Butler, Jackson Koivun and Brendan Valdes have been named to the watch list for the 2024 Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank, as announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Friday.
Since 2002, the Ben Hogan Award annually honors 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. 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 watch list is comprised of 40 golfers representing 28 different universities. Auburn is one of three programs to have at least three men recognized on the watch list.
The list of 40 will be cut down to 10 semifinalists on 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.
Past winners of the Ben Hogan Award include Rickie Fowler (2008), Patrick Cantlay (2012), Jon Rahm (2015, 2016), Sahith Theegala (2020) as well as Auburn's very own, assistant coach Chris Williams (2013).
Koivun and Valdes are named to the watch list for the first time in their respective careers. Butler makes his second appearance after earning a nod two seasons ago.
To begin the spring slate, all three men are represented inside the World Amateur Golf Ranking's (WAGR) top 35. Koivun leads the pack at No. 13, followed by Valdes at No. 30 and Butler at No. 33.
In his first season as a collegiate golfer, Koivun has already made waves with four consecutive top-20 outings, including two second place finishes and a head-to-head victory against WAGR No. 2 Gordon Sargent on the 20th hole of their match at the SEC Fall Preview last September.
Valdes and Butler look to build off a pair of Honorable Mention All-American campaigns from the 2022-23 season. This year, Valdes has yet to finish a tournament over par or worse than eighth place on the leaderboard. Butler has carded a trio of top-10 finishes and leads the roster with 69 birdies made.
