Baylor MGOLF’s Keefer Named to Ben Hogan Award Watch List

[Roberts, Matt]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Feb. 9, 2024

Baylor MGOLF’s Keefer Named to Ben Hogan Award Watch List
The two-time All-American enters the spring semester as the No. 34 Individual in the country
For more information, contact Matt Roberts, 254-227-2280, WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu<mailto:WM_Roberts at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – Baylor's Johnny Keefer was one of 40 players named to the Ben Hogan Award Watch List in a joint announcement Friday by the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation, the Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).

The two-time All-American is Baylor’s first representative on the watch list since Cooper Dossey in 2020. Keefer is one of just four players from the State of Texas and three from the Big 12 Conference, joining Gustav Frimodt of TCU and Christiaan Maas of Texas.

The two-time reigning Big 12 Men's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year finished the fall on fire with three top-10 finishes in three stroke-play events, including his last time out at the Kapolei Invitational, where he tied for eighth with three rounds in the 60s. He carded a 12-under 204, which ranks as one of the top-20 tournament scores in program history. In the process, he also overtook Jimmy Walker’s career stroke-average mark, moving .04 strokes ahead of the PGA major champion and former Bear with a semester to play.

Keefer is on pace to lead the team in stroke average for a third-straight season and begins the spring ranked as the No. 34 player in the Scoreboard individual rankings.

The Bears have had two Hogan Award semi-finalists in program history. The award, presented by PNC Bank, 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.

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 Big 12 recipients include Oklahoma State’s Rickie Fowler (2008), Viktor Hovland (2019), Hunter Mahan (2003), and Peter Uihlein (2011), Texas’ Doug Ghim (2018), and Texas Tech’s Ludvig Aberg (2022, 2023).

Keefer and the Bears will return to action Feb. 19-21 at the Prestige in Palm Springs, Calif. For more information on Baylor Men’s Golf, follow @BaylorMGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.



—BaylorBears.com—



Matt Roberts | Associate Director of Athletic Communications (MBB/MGOLF/ WGOLF)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-227-2280
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