Five finalists have been named for the 2016 Division III Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Barbasol. Jackson Collier (Methodist), David Kleckner (Oglethorpe), Addison Lambeth (Huntingdon), Logan Lanier (LaGrange) and Phillip Stewart (Schreiner) are finalists for the award. The winner will be announced June 2 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, and presented by award namesake Jack Nicklaus at a ceremony during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide.
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 storied Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio — the same club where Jack Nicklaus learned the game of golf as a young boy.
Collier is currently sports a stroke average of 72.61 for the Monarchs, the top-ranked team in Division III. He has carded 13 rounds at even par or better with a low round of 67 this season. In nine tournaments thus far, he has seven top-20 finishes, including six top-10s. He won the Gordin Classic in September and he recently took second place at the USA South Conference Championships.
A first-team Southern Athletic Association selection, Kleckner posted a win at the SAA Men’s Preview and tied for first in a match against Emory. He has three additional top-10 finishes and only two showings outside the top 10. Kleckner sports a 71.82 stroke average.
In 23 rounds this season, Lambeth is averaging 72.13 per round. He has won two tournaments, the O’Briant-Jensen and the Emory Spring Invitational, and has finished in the top five in seven of the Hawks’ 10 tournaments this season. He was named first team All-Conference by the USA South Athletic Conference.
Lanier has a stroke average of 71.67. In eight tournaments during the 2015-16 season, Lanier has not finished lower than ninth. He is the USA South Player of the Year and an all-conference first-team selection. He has shot par or better in 14 rounds, with a season- and career-low round score of 67 at the Jekyll Island Intercollegiate.
Stewart’s scoring average of 73.25 is the third-best in Schreiner history. He finished second twice and posted seven top-six finishes in eight tournaments this year. Stewart earned first-team All-Southern Collegiate Athletics Conference honors.
Nicklaus, a Big Ten and NCAA Champion at The Ohio State University, helped inspire and create the Jack Nicklaus Award in 1988 and it is now presented to the National Player of the year in
NCAA Divisions I, II and III, as well as NAIA and NJCAA Divisions I and II.
