Whitsett Named SEC Freshman of the Year
4/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
April 25, 2011
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Alabama men's golfers Bud Cauley and Cory Whitsett were named first-team All-SEC the conference office announced on Monday afternoon while freshman Cory Whitsett was named the league's freshman of the year and Bobby Wyatt was selected second-team All-SEC.
It is the third straight year for Cauley to earn first-team All-SEC honors after winning SEC Freshman of the Year accolades in 2009. Cauley also becomes just the third Alabama player to earn first-team All-SEC honors three times, joining Steve Lowery who was selected to the first team from 1981-83.
Whitsett also garnered All-Freshman recognition along with his first-team All-SEC honors. Fellow freshman Bobby Wyatt was named a second-team All-SEC selection while being named to the All-Freshman team.
"I'm very proud of these guys for what they have accomplished this year," Alabama head coach Jay Seawell said. "They worked really hard and have had a major impact on our program. It is great to see these guys rewarded for all of the hard work and dedication they have shown."
Cauley, who hails from Jacksonville, Fla., currently boasts the lowest single-season scoring average in school history at 70.52 strokes per round, which is 17 shots below par (-.57 per round) for the season. He won the Cleveland Golf Palmetto Intercollegiate with a career-low 201. Cauley is sixth in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index and third nationally in scoring average.
Whitsett, a native of Houston, Texas, has picked up momentum as his freshman season has progressed. His 70.96 scoring average is the lowest freshman average in Crimson Tide history. Whitsett has posted four straight top-six finishes including a win at the Linger Longer Invitational where he shot a career-low 203 (-13). He is averaging 70.13 (-16) in five events this spring and is 11th in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index.
Wyatt, a native of Mobile, Ala., was one of the hottest golfers in the country before a shoulder injury in March kept him out of two events. He returned in the SEC Championship to help the Tide to a runner-up finish. Wyatt is third on the team with a 71.57 stroke average, which is better than any other freshman in school history before this season.
Over the past five years under Seawell's guidance, Alabama boasts five players that have earned eight first-team All-SEC honors.
Alabama will learn its NCAA Regional destination on Monday, May 9, and begin play on Thursday, May 19.
The 2011 SEC Men's Golf Awards are listed below:
COACH OF THE YEAR
Buddy Alexander, Florida
GOLFER OF THE YEAR
Bank Vongvanij, Florida
Co-SCHOLAR-ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
Bank Vongvanij, Florida
Ryan Haselden, Vanderbilt
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Cory Whitsett, Alabama
First-Team All-SEC
Andres Echavarria, Florida
Bank Vongvanij, Florida
Phillip Choi, Florida
Bud Cauley, Alabama
Cory Whitsett, Alabama
Blayne Barber, Auburn
John Peterson, LSU
Andrew Loupe, LSU
Second-Team All-SEC
Sebastian Cappelen, Arkansas
Robin Wingardh, Tennessee
Jonathan Randolph, Mississippi
Russell Henley, Georgia
Bobby Wyatt, Alabama
Harris English, Georgia
Ethan Tracy, Arkansas
Michael Hebert, Auburn
All-Freshman Team
Cory Whitsett, Alabama
Bobby Wyatt, Alabama
Niclas Carlsson, Auburn
Sebastian Cappelen, Arkansas
Danny Keddie, Tennessee
