HUTCHINSON, Kan. – Cal seniors Brandon Hagy and Joël Stalter were named Division I PING First-Team All-Americans by the Golf Coaches Association of America on Tuesday. Both were named to the GCAA’s First-Team All-American squad for the first time in their career after being second-team selections in 2012-13.
The honor is the latest on a long list of awards in 2013-14 for Hagy who previously captured the Byron Nelson Award, Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Tom Hansen Pac-12 Conference Medal, co-team MVP honors, Cal’s Ben Furth Award and a Golden Bear Achievement Award. He was also a national semifinalist for The Ben Hogan Award, a first-team All-Pac-12 selection, chosen to represent Team USA in the 2014 Palmer Cup and the Pac-12’s Player of the Month for September of 2013.
Hagy was an individual medalist three times this season (Jack Nicklaus Invitational, Arizona Intercollegiate, Aggie Invitational) and finished in the top 10 in 10 of 14 events with nine of those showings in the top five. He was also Cal’s top finisher in five events and led the team with a 70.98 stroke average
“I’m very excited to be named a first-team All-American,” Hagy said. “That was one of my goals at the start of the year and it is nice to see a lot of hard work pay off.”
Stalter was also a national finalist for the Byron Nelson Award, a first-team All-Pac-12 pick and the team’s co-MVP along with Hagy. He matched Hagy’s three victories in 2013-14 (Alister MacKenzie Invitational, Arizona Intercollegiate, National Invitational Tournament) while totaling six top-five finishes and seven top-10 showings among his 13 events. In addition, he Cal’s top finisher or tied for the top eight times all coming over the Bears’ last 11 events, including a tied for fourth place showing at the Pac-12 Championship and a tied for 19th place finish at the NCAA Championship that were both the best of his career at the events. Stalter finished the season with a 71.64 stroke average that was second among team’s regulars behind only Hagy.
“I’m super excited about being named a first-team All-American and it’s still hard to believe,” Stalter said. “All the hard work I put in paid off and it’s really a tribute to all the people that have helped me throughout my career at Cal. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to finish my college career after a disappointing week at NCAA’s.”
