Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboy Duo Earns All-America Honors
May 30, 2009 | Cowboy Golf
May 30, 2009
TOLEDO, Ohio - A pair of Cowboy golfers were honored on Saturday with the announcement of the Ping All-America First Team. Sophomore Rickie Fowler and freshman Morgan Hoffmann were among 10 players named to the squad.
For the second consecutive season, Fowler was tabbed as a first-team pick after posting six top-five finishes, including a tie for third at the NCAA Championship this past week.
A finalist for the Ben Hogan Award, Fowler is the 17th player in program history to earn first-team All-America honors at least twice. The Murrieta, Calif., native placed outside the top 20 just once in 12 starts and earned his third career victory at the Aggie Invitational.
The 2009 Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Year, Hoffmann claimed medalist honors three times this season, winning the Ping/Golfweek Preview, Morris Williams Intercollegiate and the Big 12 Championship. He added runner-up finishes at the Southern Highlands Collegiate and the Aggie Invitational and finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championship this week, tying for seventh.
The Wyckoff, N.J., native was also named a semifinalist for the Hogan Award as well as a member of the U.S. Palmer Cup squad.
In addition, Hoffmann was named the recipient of the Phil Mickelson Award presented by the Phil and Amy Mickelson Foundation as the most outstanding freshman in Division I men's golf. The Cowboy rookie became the fourth OSU player in the last five years to win the award, joining Pablo Martin (2005), Jonathan Moore (2006) and Fowler (2008).
The duo also made history this week with the latest release of the R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking as Hoffmann moved into the No. 1 position, while Fowler occupies the No. 2 slot. The feat signifies the first time two players from the same team have held the top two spots in the world ranking.
For Fowler, it marks the second consecutive season he has had a hand in a historic achievement. Last summer, he and OSU teammate Kevin Tway qualified for the U.S. Open to become the first-ever freshman duo from the same team to qualify for the event.
