CCU

Men's Golf Takes Home Three of the Top Big South Awards

       

Men's Golf Takes Home Three of the Top Big South Awards

Johnson Named Player of the Year, Byrd Freshman of the Year, Terrell Co-Coach of the Year

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Coastal Carolina’s Dustin Johnson and Zack Byrd were named Big South Men’s Golf Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively, by the League’s head coaches and sports information directors, it was announced Sunday evening at the League’s annual Championship banquet, held at The Patriot Golf Club at Grand Harbor in Ninety Six, S.C.  CCU head coach Allen Terrell and Charleston Southern head coach Howard Vroon received co-Coach of the Year honors, while Liberty’s Jonathan Dickinson garnered Scholar-Athlete of the Year.   Johnson leads the Conference in scoring average at 72.67 strokes per round, ranking 10th in the region and 70th nationally according to GolfStat, as well as the fifth-best in Coastal history.  He is the top ranked player in the Big South according to GolfStat and GolfWeek, ranking 53rd and 57th in the country, respectively.  Johnson posted a League-best eight top-10 finishes in 10 events, including tying for second at the General Jim Hackler Invitational, leading CCU to its second straight team title.  A two-time Golfer of the Week selection, Johnson also had top-five finishes at the Furman Intercollegiate (t-3rd), Landfall Tradition (t-4th), Club Glove Intercollegiate (t-4th) and Mercedes-Benz (5th).  He carded a low-round 68 twice this season, which ties for the 10th best single round in school history.   Byrd played in all 10 events for Coastal this season, ranking third on the team and 10th in the League with a freshman-best 74.53 scoring average.  He owns a pair of top-10 finishes, including leading CCU with a tie for seventh at the UNCG/Forest Oaks Intercollegiate to help the Chants to a runner-up finish.  Byrd also tied for seventh at the General Jim Hackler Invitational and totaled five top-20 finishes on the season.  Byrd’s top round of the year was a 70 in the final round of the Raines Development Group Intercollegiate.   Terrell and Vroon each capture their third Coach of the Year honor.  Terrell led his squad to seven top-five team finishes this season, including back-to-back team tournament.  Coastal Carolina, which secured the No. 1 seed in this week’s PUPS Big South Men’s Golf Championship, has been ranked in the top-50 all season, ranking as high as No. 31.  Vroon’s CSU club finished in the top five in all 10 of its events this season, including four-straight team titles during the Fall campaign.  The Buccaneers are the No. 2 seed in the League championship.   The Big South also announced five of its All-Conference honorees at the banquet, which serves as the kickoff for the annual tournament.  These selections are based on regular-season play and feature Johnson, Charleston Southern’s Shawn Hall and Paul Reed, Radford’s Aaron Summers and Birmingham-Southern’s John Quinn.  The remaining All-Conference members will consist of the top five finishers (and any additional ties) in the Championship that were not among those announced at the banquet.  Joining Dickinson on the All-Academic Team are Reed, Birmingham-Southern’s Alex Krempa, and High Point’s Chase Wilson.   The first round of the 2005 PUPS Big South Men’s Golf Championship begins Monday morning at 8:30am ET at The Patriot Golf Club at Grand Harbor.  Second round action will begin Tuesday morning at 8:30am, while final round competition is slated for Wednesday morning at 8:30am ET.  The men’s champion will receive an automatic berth in the NCAA Regionals.  The event is free and open to the public     2005 Big South Conference Men’s Golf Award Winners   Player of the Year Dustin Johnson, Coastal Carolina   Freshman of the Year
Zack Byrd, Coastal Carolina   Co-Coach of the Year
Allen Terrell, Coastal Carolina
Howard Vroon, Charleston Southern   Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Jonathan Dickinson, Liberty   All-Conference 
Dustin Johnson, Soph., Coastal Carolina
Shawn Hall, Soph., Charleston Southern Paul Reed, Sr., Charleston Southern
Aaron Summers, Sr., Radford
John Quinn, Sr., Birmingham-Southern   Academic All-Conference
Alex Krempa, Birmingham-Southern                                                 Paul Reed, Charleston Southern                                                        Chase Wilson, High Point
Jonathan Dickinson, Liberty