Texas Lutheran's Colin Uecker named semifinalist for Jack Nicklaus Award

NORMAN, Okla. – Semifinalists for the 2019 NCAA Division III Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Barbasol have been announced, and Texas Lutheran senior Colin Uecker (Kerrville/Tivy) is among the potential DIII national winners.

Division III finalists for the award will be named May 14 while Division II finalists will be announced May 15.

Nicklaus Award recipients will be announced May 30 with the honor presented by Jack Nicklaus at a ceremony during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide 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 18-21, at the Champions at Keene Trace in Lexington, Ky. The Barbasol Shootout will be held Saturday, June 1 at The Ohio State University Golf Club's Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio - the same club where Jack Nicklaus played collegiate golf for the Buckeyes.

Uecker (pronounced "EE-ker) is the 2019 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference champion and a qualifier for the 2019 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships, which will be contested May 14-17 at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Ky. The tournament will be hosted by Transylvania University.

Uecker is the second Bulldog in program history to receive an individual invitation to the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships. Adam Peterson played in the 2015 NCAA Championships and finished eighth overall.

In 2019, Uecker has won five tournaments, including SCAC medalist honors. He has eight career collegiate victories.

Uecker currently ranks 10th nationally in the Golfstat.com individual player rankings for NCAA Division III. He has an adjusted scoring average of 71.79, and he is 24-1 against players ranked inside the top 100. He is 11-0 against players in the top 50.

Uecker is fourth in the NCAA DIII for par-4 scoring, at 4.02, and he is seventh in DIII in par-5 scoring, at 4.69.

At the NCAA Championships, the team and individual champions will be determined after 72 holes of play or the conclusion of the last fully-completed round.

Forty-two teams and six individuals not on one of those teams were selected to participate in the championships. After 36 holes of competition, the field will be cut to the top 18 teams and top six individuals not on one of those teams.

Division III Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Barbasol Semifinalists

Andrew Abel, Illinois Wesleyan

Jacob Arnett, Oglethorpe

Matthew Christl, Southwestern (TX)

Henry Gee, Huntingdon

Josh Gibson, Hope

Sam Goldenring, Williams

Larkin Gross, Methodist

Emmet Herb, St. Thomas (MN)

Josh Hill, Guilford

Ben Johnson, Illinois Wesleyan

Ken Kong, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

Colin Laszlo, Wittenberg

Jason Li, Carnegie Mellon

Drew Mathers, Huntingdon

James Mishoe, Guilford

Matt Organisak, Emory

Cade Osgood, Southwestern (TX)

Brian Peccie, Washington & Lee

Drew Pershing, Illinois Wesleyan

Will Rosenfield, Trinity (CT)

Logan Ryan, Emory

Stephen Shephard, Huntingdon

Dan Shepherd, Methodist

Luke Smith, Hardin-Simmons

Sutherland Stith, Southwestern (TX)

Colin Uecker, Texas Lutheran

Cameron Willis, Wittenberg

Rob Wuethrich, Illinois Wesleyan

Connor Yakubov, Emory

Eric Yiu, Emory