By RON BALICKI
Senior WriterFor the second consecutive year, a freshman has captured
Golfweek’s College Player of the Year honor.
Oklahoma State’s Rickie Fowler landed the prize for the 2008 season by finishing No. 1 in the
Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, following USC’s Jamie Lovemark, who won in ’07.
Chris Zambri, in his second year at the USC helm, has been named
Golfweek’s Coach of the Year, joining USC’s Andrea Gaston, who earned this season’s women’s honor.
Fowler, with a 68.93 power rating in the
Golfweek rankings, edged UCLA senior Kevin Chappell (69.03), the NCAA champion. Rounding out the top 5: Alabama senior Michael Thompson (69.24), Georgia State senior Joel Sjoholm (69.36) and Lovemark (69.55).
“I had a pretty good streak going, then had a couple of tough spots, but overall I’m very pleased with the season,” said Fowler, who also won the Hogan Award as the top college player. “It was a fun year.”
Fowler finished in the top 8 in his first nine starts, highlighted by victories at Olympia Fields (his second college tournament) and the Big 12 Championship.
He slipped a little late in the season when he placed 13th at The Maxwell and T-20 at the Central Regional, but he finished strong with a tie for fourth at the NCAA Championship.
For the season, Fowler compiled an overall record of 908-60-23, including 71-18-5 against top-25 players and 131-22-8 vs. the top 50.
Zambri guided the Trojans to one of their best seasons. In contention until the final hole, USC finished third at the NCAA finals, equaling the school’s top showing, last accomplished in 1975.
“(The NCAA finish) was a little disappointing, but overall I think we had a very good year,” said Zambri, also the Pac-10 Coach of the Year. “We learned a lot and accomplished a lot, so in that respect I’m extremely proud of these guys.”
USC, which finished No. 2 behind Georgia in the
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings, posted 11 top-5 showings in 12 starts and did not lose to a team ranked outside the top 25.
The Trojans were 63-19-2 against the top 25, 114-19-2 vs. the top 50 and 171-19-2 overall.
The Trojans posted four victories this spring, including the U.S. Collegiate and the NCAA West Regional, and tied for first at the Pac-10 Championship before losing in a playoff.
• • •
Ron Balicki is a
Golfweek senior writer. To reach him e-mail
rbalicki@golfweek.com.
GOLFWEEK’S ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS
FIRST TEAMRickie Fowler, Fr. (Okla. St.)
Kevin Chappell, Sr., (UCLA)
Michael Thompson, Sr., (Alabama)
Joel Sjoholm, Sr., (Georgia St)
Jamie Lovemark, So. (USC)
Rory Hie, So. (USC)
Sihwan Kim, Fr. (Stanford)
Jonas Blixt, Sr. (Florida St)
Chesson Hadley, So. (Ga. Tech)
Jorge Campillo, Jr. (Indiana)
SECOND TEAMWebb Simpson, Sr. (Wake Forest)
Gareth Shaw, Sr. (ETSU)
Russell Henley, Fr. (Georgia)
Adam Mitchell, Jr. (Georgia)
Troy Merritt, Sr. (Boise St.)
Billy Horschel, Jr. (Florida)
Zack Sucher, Jr. (UAB)
Hudson Swafford, So. (Georgia)
Rob Grube, Sr. (Stanford)
Ryan Spears, Sr. (Wichita St)
THIRD TEAMDerek Fathauer, Sr. (Louisville)
Erik Flores, Jr. (UCLA)
Charlie Holland, Jr. (Texas)
Jonas EnanderHedin, Sr. (Charlotte)
Matthew Swan, Jr. (Alabama)
Jonathan Hodge, Jr. (Chattanooga)
Andrew Putnam, Fr. (Pepperdine)
James Allenby, Sr. (Oregon St.)
Jay Moseley, Sr. (Auburn)
Harris English, Fr. (Georgia)
HONORABLE MENTIONKevin O'Connell, Fr. (N. Carolina)
Jurrian Vander, Vaart Sr. (Va. Tech)
Henrik Norlander, Fr. (Augusta St)
Kyle Stanley, So. (Clemson)
Aaron Goldberg, Sr. (SanDiegoSt)
Jesper Kennegard, Fr. (Arizona St)
Manuel Villegas, Sr. (Florida)
Ryan Brehm, Sr. (Mich. St.)
Mark Anderson, Sr. (S Carolina)
Matthew Giles, Fr. (USC)
Tom Glissmeyer, Jr. (USC)
Trent Leon, Jr. (Okla. St.)
Matt Hill, Fr. (NC State)
Cameron Tringale, Jr. (Ga. Tech)
Clayton Rask, Sr. (Minnesota)
Corey Nagy, So. (Charlotte)
Michael Schachner, Sr. (Duke)
Mike Van Sickle, Jr. (Marquette)
Andrew Landry, Jr. (Arkansas)
Brian Harman, Jr. (Georgia)
Posted: 6/9/2008
print
email
discuss
