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2022 Ben Hogan Award

Texas Tech’s Aberg named recipient of 2022 Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank

FORT WORTH, Texas (May 23, 2022) – Texas Tech junior Ludvig Aberg has been named the 2022 recipient of the Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank. The annual award – which honors the top men’s college golfer based on collegiate, amateur and professional events over the previous 12 months – was announced tonight at a black-tie dinner honoring the three Finalists at Colonial Country Club.

 

Aberg, who hails from Eslov, Sweden, becomes the first-ever winner from Texas Tech and the third recipient from the Big 12 Conference in the past five years, joining Oklahoma State’s Viktor Hovland in 2019 and Texas’ Doug Ghim in 2018. He is the third European ever honored, following Spain’s Jon Rahm and Norway’s Viktor Hovland. Upon claiming the award, Aberg was extended the first invitation into the PGA TOUR’s 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge from tournament chairman Jim Whitten.

 

The junior ranks among the top three in all four major ranking systems, including No. 1 according to the Scratch Players World Amateur Ranking, No. 2 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), No. 2 in the Golfstat individual rankings and No. 3 in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings.

 

The runner up at the 2021 European Amateur, Aberg also placed tied for 30th at the European Tour’s Scandinavian Mixed and shared 51st at the PGA TOUR’s 2021 Butterfield Bermuda Championship. He also has been selected to participate on the International Team at the 2022 Arnold Palmer Cup.

 

In college play, Aberg has recorded nine straight top-15 finishes, including impressive wins at the Big 12 Championships and The Prestige. He also tied for sixth place at the New Haven NCAA Regional last week. The Red Raider has finished no worse than sixth in his last seven tournaments. He owns a 70.03 scoring average over 11 collegiate events this season.

 

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. Three of the top six players in the Official World Golf Ranking—No. 2 Rahm (2015, 2016), No. 5 Patrick Cantlay (2012) and No. 6 Hovland (2019)—are past recipients of the honor, while No. 3 Collin Morikawa (2018, 2019) was a two-time Ben Hogan Award Finalist. Morikawa attended as tonight’s special guest speaker.

 

The group of three Finalists honored Monday night by the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation, Friends of Golf (FOG) and Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) included Aberg, Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett and Oklahoma State’s Eugenio Chacarra. Aberg was voted the winner by an esteemed selection committee made up of nearly three dozen leaders and experts in college, amateur and professional golf. In addition, all past award winners were eligible to vote in the final round, casting a ballot to rank the three Finalists.

 

The Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank began honoring the outstanding amateur collegiate golfer at Colonial Country Club in 2002. Prior to its move to Fort Worth, the original Ben Hogan Trophy, which utilized a different set of criteria for its winner, was issued by FOG at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles beginning in 1990.

 

Since 2002, the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation has awarded more than $875,000 in scholarships to more than 30 universities and charitable organizations. In addition to making donations to scholarship programs at the Finalists’ universities, the Foundation is making a $10,000 donation to honor and assist the University of the Southwest, which experienced a profound tragedy within its men’s and women’s golf programs this spring.

 

For more information on for the Ben Hogan Award presented by PNC Bank, visit TheBenHoganAward.org and follow @BenHoganAward on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About PNC Bank

PNC Bank, National Association, is a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: PNC). PNC is one of the largest diversified financial services institutions in the United States, organized around its customers and communities for strong relationships and local delivery of retail and business banking including a full range of lending products; specialized services for corporations and government entities, including corporate banking, real estate finance and asset-based lending; wealth management and asset management. For information about PNC, visit www.pnc.com.

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Friends of Golf

SCGA Junior Golf Foundation Partnership

We at Friends of Golf (FOG) have proudly supported the SCGA Junior Golf Foundation since 2009 and founded the SCGA Junior Player & Youth Development program in Southeast Los Angeles in 2015. We couldn’t be more proud of what this partnership has turned into and the program growth we’ve seen.
 
Our mission at FOG is to support student-athlete golfers by instilling the values of honesty, ethics and fellowship. From the time boys and girls enter grade school, through the end of their college experience, FOG makes it possible for aspiring junior golfers (irrespective of economic standing) to play, compete and excel in this great game.
 
The respective missions of FOG and the Foundation are very tightly aligned, and we firmly believe that the Foundation has the infrastructure to execute FOG’s vision for the game.
 
This partnership with the Foundation has allowed for the expansion of the game of golf in underserved communities across Southern California, bringing the game to more females, minorities and youth who wouldn’t otherwise have had access to the game. The Foundation has truly proven to be an outstanding partner, delivering on FOG’s intentions with our initial funding and continued support.
 
FOG continues to champion the Foundation because we’re convinced that the program does an excellent job of getting kids involved in the game at the grassroots level and keeping them in the game; supporting player and youth development from 5 years old through high school.
 
This support goes a step further with our annual Friends of Golf Scholarship program. The chosen participant is one who has been actively involved with the Foundation and has utilized their passion for the game to give back to the golf community. 2020 Friends of Golf Scholar Shani Waite, now a sophomore competing on the Division I women’s golf team at Prairie View A&M University, shares why the program and her experiences with FOG were so impactful:
 
“The SCGA has helped me become a more independent and confident person. I started in this program when I was eight, as a very shy girl who did not know how to get out of her comfort zone. When I was 12, I was selected by the SCGA to participate in a clinic with PGA Professionals Luke Donald and Butch Harmon during two FOG events at Bel-Air CC. During the event, I hit shots in front of the members and I was even given the opportunity to interview Phil Mickelson! Even then, I could already tell what a change they made in me. I was more outgoing, willing to start conversations and fearless.”
 
Our programs and the work we do remains intentional and impassioned, to not just develop good golfers, but good people. We support these juniors toward their desired level of competition and academic ambitions. We will enthusiastically continue to build upon the growth we have seen and achieved over the years.
 
From tee to green, from course to classroom, we thank you for your own belief and backing of this mission, just as we’re enthused to grow this great relationship.
 
Sincerely,
Sal Cimbolo
CEO, Friends of Golf

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