Sun Devil sophomore David Puig has been selected as one of three finalists for the Ben Hogan Golfer of the Month Award, an honor rewarded to the most outstanding NCAA golfer each month. Alongside Puig is Clemson's Jacob Bridgeman and Florida State's Vincent Norman.
The award's voters include 12 members of the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation and three votes from social media. The top vote getter on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram will each get one vote, with 15 total votes for the award. Social media voting will be done by liking the respective post on your player from Tuesday's announcement through Friday (Feb. 12) at noon CT. The final winner will be announced on Friday evening.
Puig has gotten off to a phenomenal start in the spring season for the Sun Devils. On Jan. 18, Puig made a match-clinching two-putt on the 18th hole to give the Sun Devils the last point they needed to beat rival Arizona Wildcats in the season-opening Copper Cup.
Just nine days later, Puig shot a final-round 70 en route to a tournament-record nine stroke win at the Southwestern Invitational on Jan. 27. Puig (70-66-70) finished 10-under par for the tournament, comfortably ahead of runner-up Joshua McCarthey of Pepperdine, who finish 1-under. Puig was the sixth Sun Devil to win the tournament and the first to win it since Paul Casey in 1998.
Puig took his momentum to Waimea, Hawaii, where he led the Sun Devils to a 12-shot victory over USC and took the individual title at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate on Feb. 4. Puig (67-68-68) finished 13-under par, four shots clear of teammate Blake Wagoner and USC's Sixian Guo, who both finished runner-up at 9-under par. Puig was the fourth Sun Devil to win the tournament and the first to win it since Jesper Kennegard in 2009.
Puig began the season at No. 13 in the country in Golf Channel's preseason rankings, which also had the Sun Devils as the No. 1 preseason squad.
List of Ben Hogan Award Golfers of the Month
August 2019 - Andy Ogletree, Georgia Tech
September 2019 - Cooper Dossey, Baylor
October 2019 - Chris Gotterup, Rutgers & Peter Kuest, BYU
November 2019 - Parker Gillam, Wake Forest
December 2019 - Noah Norton, Georgia Tech
January 2020 - Sahith Theegala, Pepperdine
February 2020 - Ricky Castillo, Florida
July 2020 - Tyler Strafaci, Georgia Tech
August 2020 - Tyler Strafaci, Georgia Tech
September 2020 - John Pak, Florida State
October 2020 - Kyle Hogan, Texas Tech
November 2020 - Ford Clegg, Mississippi State
December 2020 - Will Holcomb, Sam Houston State