Lambeth and Thrash named Jack Nicklaus Award semifinalists
NORMAN, Okla. – Huntingdon senior golfers Addison Lambeth and Will Thrash were recently named semifinalists for the 2017 Division III Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award.
Lambeth was the Division III Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year in 2016.
The finalists for Division III will be announced on May 16. The winner will be announced on June 1 with a presentation by Jack Nicklaus at a ceremony during the final round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
Lambeth, who has spent most of the season ranked as the No. 1 golfer in Division III, is the USA South Golfer of the Year and a first-team All-Conference selection. After setting Huntingdon's NCAA-era scoring average at 72.37 last season, he is averaging 71.09 in 23 rounds this season. Lambeth has two tournament wins and has finished in the top three in six of the Hawks' nine tournaments this season. He has 14 rounds of par or better this season, including seven rounds in the 60s. His 6-under-par 64 in the Emory Spring Invitational in April was the best round by a Hawk during the NCAA era.
Thrash, who is ranked seventh in Division III, is averaging 72.61 per round. A first-team All-Conference selection, he has two tournament wins this season and four top three finishes in nine tournaments. In 23 rounds this season he has shot par or better 10 times. He has turned in six rounds in the 60s, including what was then Huntingdon's NCAA-era record with a 6-under 65 in the Gordin Classic last fall.
The Division III winner of the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award, along with the winners from Division I, Division II, NAIA and the NJCAA, will compete in the Barbasol Shootout for an exemption into the PGA Tour's Barbasol Championship at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Grand National in Opelika, Ala. The Barbasol Shootout will be held June 3 at the Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio.