Hadley, Simpson Make Hogan Cut

Wake Forest’s Webb Simpson and Georgia Tech’s Chesson Hadley, both of Raleigh, have been named among the 10 semifinalists for the Ben Hogan Award.

Joining Simpson and Hadley on the list are Jonas Blixt (Florida State), Kevin Chappell (UCLA), Jonas Enander Hedin (Charlotte), Rickie Fowler (Oklahoma State), Rory Hie and Jamie Lovemark (Southern California), Joel Sjoholm (Georgia State) and Michael Thompson (Alabama).

The Hogan is presented annually to the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or junior college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the last 12 months.

The Hogan Award finalists will be announced on May 7 and invited to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Hogan Award presentation on May 18.

A RETURN TO ROOTS: The Carolinas Golf Association steps back to its very beginnings when the group conducts its 28th Carolinas Mid-Amateur Championship at Greenville Country Club's Chanticleer course in Greenville, SC, April 18-20.

Although the CGA was organized in Charleston in 1909, its first Amateur championship was played the following year at Sans Souci Country Club, which a few years later would become Greenville Country Club. In the years since, the club has hosted CGA championships on 17 other occasions, including this year's Carolinas Mid-Amateur.

The Robert Trent Jones-designed Chanticleer course will be a far different layout than the original Sans Souci course that opened in 1905 — a nine-hole test that measured a mere 2,634 yards. Chanticleer, which has been rated by Golf Digest as one of America's Top 100 Courses since 1979, is a demanding par-72 that will play 6,688 yards for this championship. It was remodeled by Jones' son Rees in 2001.

OF NOTE: Ryan Brickley joins Olde Sycamore Golf Plantation in Charlotte as head golf professional. Brickley comes to Olde Sycamore after two years as an assistant pro at Ballantyne Country Club. Prior to that, he spent three years as director of instruction at NorthStone Country Club and two years as director of instruction at the Michael Jordan Golf Center. … East Carolina sophomore Abby Bools, a two-time Conference USA Golfer of the Week in 2007-08, has been named to the C-USA All-Academic Team. Bools maintains a 3.71 GPA in history, and was also named to the 2006-07 NCAA Division I National Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholar team last season.

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