Lee's Burnette, UWG's Fulton Finalists for Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year
NORMAN, Okla. – The Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) has announced the five finalists for the 2022 Division II Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award. Lee’s
Beck Burnette and West Georgia’s
Austin Fulton were named as finalists for the award.
OFFICIAL RELEASE
Burnette’s averaged 70.60 (-1.10) throughout the 2021-22 season with a low round of 66 (-6) at the Tennessee River Rumble on March 28-29. The GSC Golfer of the Year racked up six top-five finishes while leading the Flames to the 2022 GSC title and an NCAA National Championship berth. The junior earned one outright win on the season at the Saint Leo Invitational on February 21-22.
Fulton completed his senior year as the second-ranked golfer in Div. II with an average score of 69.95 (-1.90). The First Team All-GSC selection earned three individual wins as well as a pair of second-place finishes. Fulton also earned an NCAA National Championship berth as an individual after placing second in the South/Southeast Regional. In the first tournament of the season, Fulton shot his low round of 64 (-8) for at the Kiawah Island Invitational on September 13-14.
The winner will be announced on June 5 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, and presented by award namesake Jack Nicklaus during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.
Nicklaus, a Big Ten and NCAA Champion at Ohio State, helped inspire and create the Jack Nicklaus Award in 1988. The award is now presented to the National Player of the year in NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, as well as NAIA and NJCAA.