Springfield, Ohio – As he nears the end of a breakout 2015-16 season, Wittenberg junior men’s golfer Garrett Brickley (Pickerington, Ohio/North) has not only taken his spot at the top of the Tigers’ lineup, but he has made an impression nationally as well.
Brickley has been named a semifinalist for the 2016 Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award, presented by Barbasol through the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). He is among 30 semifinalists in NCAA Division III who are under consideration for five finalist slots to be announced at the GCAA Division III National Awards Banquet on May 10.
Nicklaus Award recipients will be announced June 2 by the golfing legend himself during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. The five recipients of the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award (representing NCAA Division I, II and III and NAIA Division I and II) will compete in the Barbasol Shootout on June 4 at Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. The winner of that competition will gain an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s Barbasol Championship July 14-17 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Grand National in Opelika, Ala.
“I’m really happy for Garrett,” said Wittenberg men’s and women’s golf head coach Jeff Roope. “He went from being a talented recruit who was looking for consistent success and a chance to get in the lineup a few years ago to someone who has put in the time and effort and bought into what it takes to be a successful member of the Tiger golf program. He has become a fixture on the team and in the university community.”
Brickley leads Wittenberg with a scoring average of 74.06, which ranks him 44th nationally. As a team, the Tigers rank fifth in the latest NCAA Division III Golfstat statistical rankings after a record-setting victory in the Rosencrans-Maurer Invitational at Springfield Country Club on April 11 and a first-place finish in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Championship Series #1 on April 24. The Tigers, who have won the last six league titles, take a 15-stroke lead into the final two rounds of the NCAC Championship Series at Wooster Country Club April 30-May 1.
Written By: Ryan Maurer