NORMAN, Okla. - Webster University fifth-year senior
Will Hocker (Grapevine, Texas/University of Oklahoma) was named as one of the five finalists for the Division III Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year presented by True Spec Golf by the Golf Coaches Association of America Thursday morning.
Hocker was the NCAA Division III Individual National Champion medalist at the 2021 NCAA Men's Golf National Championships at Ogleby Resort in Wheeling, W.Va.
Along with Hocker, the Division III finalists for the award are Illinois Wesleyan's Rob Wuethrich, who was the winner of the award in 2020, Methodist's Andre Chi, Carnegie Mellon's Jason Li and Guilford's James Mishoe.
At the 2021 NCAA Championships, Hocker shot a 2-over par 285 for 72 holes to win the individual national title by two shots over Christopher Newport's Robb Kinder and Methodist's Cooper Hrabak, who each carded 4-over par scores of 287 for 72 holes. Along with shooting an even-par 71 in the final round, Hocker, who was named a PING Division III All-American in 2020, carded a 1-under 69 in the first round, a 1-over 72 in the second round and a 2-over 73 in the third round.
During the 2021 season, Hocker won three tournaments, including the NCAA Division III National Championship, recorded a scoring average of 72.11, which is ranked third in Division III in the latest Golfstat player rankings. He finished outside the Top 3 two times in seven events and the top finisher for the Gorloks in six of their seven events on the season.
Hocker, who was a five-time St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Golfer of the Week during the 2021 season, tallied 12 rounds of par or better for the season and had six Top 10 finishes, including five Top 5 placements.
Nicklaus, a Big Ten and NCAA Champion at The Ohio State University, helped inspire and create the Jack Nicklaus Award 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.
Recipients of the award will be announced during The Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Golf Tournament, scheduled June 3-6 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio.
