April 28, 2016

NORMAN, Okla. — University of South Carolina Men’s Golf senior Matt NeSmith was named a semifinalist for the 2016 Jack Nicklaus Award, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced on Thursday. NeSmith is one of 30 student-athletes in contention for the national player of the year honor.

NeSmith leads the Gamecocks with a 71.27 stroke average this season, and he’s tallied medalist victories at the Palmetto Intercollegiate and the General Hackler Championship in 2016. He is currently ranked 13th in the Golfstat Cup individual rankings, and he’s led the Gamecocks to a No. 17 national ranking as a team.

Finalists for the Jack Nicklaus Award will be named Wednesday, May 25. Nicklaus Award recipients will be announced Thursday, June 2 with the honor presented by Jack Nicklaus at a ceremony during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

In addition to receiving the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award, the five recipients will compete in the Barbasol Shootout for an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s Barbasol Championship, held July 14-17, at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Grand National in Opelika, Ala. The Barbasol Shootout will be held Saturday, June 4 at the storied Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio – the same club where Jack Nicklaus learned the game of golf as a young boy.

Joining NeSmith on the Nicklaus Award semifinalist list are Derek Bard of Virginia, Charlie Danielson of Illinois, Thomas Detry of Illinois, Doug Ghim of Texas, Will Gordon of Vanderbilt, Gavin Hall of Texas, Rico Hoey of Southern California, Sam Horsfield of Florida, Beau Hossler of Texas, Austin James of Charleston Southern, Michael Johnson of Auburn, Chase Koepka of USF, Hank Lebioda of Florida State, KK Limbhasut of California, Lee McCoy of Georgia, Maverick McNealy of Stanford, Nahum Mendoza III of San Diego State, Adrian Meronk of East Tennessee State, Aksel Olsen of USF, Corey Pereira of Washington, Jon Rahm of Arizona State, Matthias Schwab of Vanderbilt, Robin Sciot-Siegrist of Louisville, Robby Shelton, Alabama, Greyson Sigg of Georgia, Lars van Meijel of Memphis, Aaron Wise of Oregon, Zach Wright of LSU and Will Zalatoris of Wake Forest.

Already a two-time SEC Player of the Week winner in 2016, NeSmith is also still in the running for another national player of the year honor, the Ben Hogan Award. The senior is one of 10 players on the Hogan semifinalist list, which will be pared to three on Tuesday, May 3. The winner will be announced Monday, May 23.

UP NEXT FOR THE GAMECOCKS

NeSmith and the Gamecocks will learn their NCAA Regional fate on Thursday, May 5 at 9:30 a.m., when selections are revealed live on Golf Channel. The 2016 NCAA Regionals will be held in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Marana, Ariz., Kohler, Wis., Albuquerque, N.M., Stillwater, Okla., and Franklin, Tenn.