Florida Tech Graduate Max O’Hagan Named Finalist for 2020 Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award

Award Winners to be announced during Memorial Tournament July 13-19

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Recent Florida Tech graduate Max O’Hagan continues to receive praise for his record-breaking 2019-20 season, and on Thursday the Golf Coaches Association of American (GCAA) announced he is a finalist for the 2020 Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Golf.com.

The Jack Nicklaus Award was created 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.

“I have a special place in my heart for this award, and it’s always been a highlight for us at the Memorial Tournament when we have the opportunity to recognize these young men,” Nicklaus said.

“Like so many student-athletes around the world, these golfers have been stripped of competition, championships and other moments to create lasting memories. I am delighted to see that the GCAA and Golf.com have worked to keep this well-deserved honor moving forward.”

“The Jack Nicklaus award is such a prestigious award for many reasons. Simply put, Jack Nicklaus embodies the gold standard in the game of golf,” said GCAA President Greg Sands. “It’s extremely exciting to see these student-athletes be recognized for their hard work, commitment, and dedication. On behalf of the GCAA and our entire coaching community, we are thrilled to honor this award during such unique times.”

This is not the first time O’Hagan has been up for the Player of the Year Award as he was a semifinalist each of the previous two seasons in 2017-18 and 2018-19. This year, he is one of five finalists for the Division II National Player of the Year, joining Dan Bradbury of Lincoln Memorial, Vincent Norrman of Georgia Southwestern, Elis Svard of CSU Monterey Bay, and Delta State’s Zach Zediker.

Recipients of the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award will be announced during the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, scheduled July 13-19.

O’Hagan, a product of Surrey, England, was recently tabbed a Division II PING First Team All-American by the GCAA, his fourth career All-America honor. The award comes after a season in which O’Hagan recorded six top-8 results in the seven tournaments he competed while also shooting par or better in 14 of those 20 rounds. He finished the 2019-20 campaign as the No. 3 ranked golfer in the nation, according to Golfstat’s DII Ranking.

O’Hagan recorded his second career win this past season at the Matlock Collegiate Classic in February. He scorched the links at Lone Palm Golf Club, firing off rounds of 69, 66 and 67 to win by nine strokes over the second-place finisher. He set school records for lowest 54-hole total (202) and score vs. par (-14) at the Matlock Classic.

Additionally, this year O’Hagan set program season records for scoring average (70.90), average score vs. par (-0.80) and par-4 scoring (3.955).

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