Jack Nicklaus Award Recipients Announced

DUBLIN, Ohio – Eugene Wong from Oregon, North Alabama’s Brett Munson, Tain Lee of Claremont McKenna, Malo-ne’s Justin Lower and Odessa College’s Abraham Ancer have been named the 2010 Jack Nicklaus Award recipients as the Golf Coaches Association of America Collegiate Players of the Year.

A sophomore from North Vancouver, B.C., Wong was the Division I Nicklaus Recipient. Wong was previously named to the PING All-America First-Team, the Pac-10 Co-Golfer of the Year and firs-team All-Pac 10. He captured medal-ist honors twice this season - the USC Collegiate Invitational and the 64th Annual Western Intercollegiate. Wong also carded a pair of runner-up finishes (Stockton Sports Commission acific Ivitational and Oregon Duck Invitational) and also placed third twice (Fresno State Lexus Golf Classic and ASU Thunderbird Invitational). He had an additional three top-10 showings and only placed out of the top 20 twice. Most recently he tied for ninth at the NCAA Champion-ships and helped Oregon advance to the match play semifinals.

As part of a stellar 2010 campaign, Munson was previously selected to the PING Division II All-America First-Team and firs-team All-Gulf South Conference. A senior from Louisville, Ky., he won medalist honors at the GSC Tourna-ment with the lowest 54-hole individual score in the tournament’s history. In addition to his record-setting conference victory, Munson won four other times - The Derrall Foreman Invitational, North Alabama Fall Classic, Indian Bayou Classic and Natural State Golf Classic. He also collected fie additional top-10 finishes and only finished out of the to10 twice. Munson’s worst finish of the season as tied-15th.

Lee, a PING Division III All-America First-Team honoree and SCIAC Player of the Year, won fie times this year includ-ing the NCAA Championships, SCIAC Championships, the CLU Kingsmen Invitational and CMS Invitational and a dual match with Cal State Fullerton. He has also had three runner-up finishes and two additional top fes. In 13 events, Lee only placed outside the top fie three times with his worst finish tied-13th. Lee led the Division III Championshipswire-to-wire and birdied three of his last seven holes to secure the victory. Lee is a sophomore from San Juan Capist-rano, Calif.

A PING All-America First-Team selection, Lower capped a remarkable junior year by capturing medalist honors at the NAIA National Championships, joining current Pioneer head coach Ken Hyland as the only individual men’s golf nation-al champions in Malone history. In addition to claiming the NAIA National Title, Lower won seven other tournaments throughout the year and shattered the Pioneer school record for lowest individual round after shooting a six-under-par 64 on the second day of Muskingum University’s Spring Invitational. A native of Canal Fulton, Ohio, Lower has now claimed All-America recognition in each of his first three seasons at Malone.

Ancer claimed medalist honors six times during his freshman campaign - including stretch of fie-of-six events late in the season. A member of the PING NJCAA Division I All-America First-Team, Ancer picked up his first individual titlewhile helping the Wranglers to the team championship at the Odessa College Invitational. He would again enter the winner’s circle after his victory at The Wrangler. The Mission, Texas, native closed out his first ear at Odessa by win-ning his last four events of the season leading up to the NJCAA Division I Championship - the Green Tree Invitational, the NJCAA Texas State Championship, the District II Championship and the WJCAC Invitational. Ancer finished tied forsecond at the NJCAA Division I Championships.

Jack Nicklaus, a Big Ten and NCAA Champion at The Ohio State University, helped inspire and create the Jack Nicklaus Award in 1988. Mr. Nicklaus recognized the recipients during the final round of the Memorial ournament presented by Morgan Stanley at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohi, just outside of Nicklaus’ hometown of Columbus.