News

Field Set for Sun Bowl Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic November 19, 2013

Twenty-one of the nation’s top collegiate golfers will make their way to El Paso when they take part in the 2013 Sun Bowl Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic on Nov. 23-26 at the El Paso Country Club.

“Western Refining is proud to team with the Sun Bowl Association in welcoming the nation’s finest college golfers to El Paso,” said Jeff Stevens, Western Refining CEO. “It is an honor to host one of the most prestigious college golf tournaments in the country. The quality of this year’s field is a testament to the hospitality of El Paso and the reputation of this event.”

The field includes 17 of the top 100 amateur golfers in the world, according to the World Amateur Golf Rankings including the top-ranked amateur, Cory Whitsett (Alabama), and the 2013 National Player of the Year, Michael Kim (California). Whitsett will be making his third appearance at the All-American Classic, he won the event in 2011.

Aside from Whitsett, the roster includes three other returning All-Americans from last year’s event. The top-four rated teams in the Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Alabama, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and California, all have two players in this year’s field.

Throughout the years, many Sun Bowl Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic competitors have gone on to pursue successful careers in the Professional Golfers’ Association of America and on the PGA Tour. Some of the past champions include Webb Simpson (2007), Ricky Barnes (2000), Notah Begay (1994), David Duval (1991), Matt Kuchar (1999), Davis Love III (1984), Chris Nallen (2003), Jerry Pate (1974), Nicholas Thompson (2004) and Tiger Woods (1995).

Alumni of the Golf Classic have gone on to earn more than $1.6 billion and win 617 events on the PGA Tour. In all, 145 colleges and universities have participated in the tournament, raising over $730,000 in scholarship money for the participating institutions.

Each university represented by the Western Refining College All-Americans will receive a $1,000 scholarship.

2013 Golf Participants

2013 BIOGRAPHIES
Anders Albertson
Georgia Tech • Junior
Two-time All-American … making second appearance at All-American Classic … earned back-to-back All-ACC honors … 2013 ACC Champion with a tournament-record score of 201 … named to the GCAA All-Region team … currently ranked 52nd in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … tied for second at the 2012 Brickyard Collegiate … finished third at the 2013 US Collegiate Championship medalist at the 2013 U.S. Amateur qualifier at Capital City Club-Crabapple … scored a double-eagle in the 2010 Junior PGA Championship, which made ESPN SportsCenter top plays that day … a three-time selection to the ACC Academic Honor Roll … majoring in business management … plays for head coach Bruce Heppler.

Julien Brun
TCU • Junior
Two-time first team All-American … 2013 Ben Hogan Award finalist … garnered back-to-back All-Nicklaus Team honors … two-time All-Conference team selection … 2012 NCAA Championship Individual Reserve Medalist … 2012 World Amateur Team Championship for Team France … two-time Palmer Cup Team Europe member … tabbed the 2012 Mountain West Freshman of the Year … currently ranked 22nd in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … semifinalist for the 2012 Ben Hogan Award … won the 2012 Challenge Tour Event in Toulouse and the 2011 European Nations Cup … majoring in communication … plays for head coach Bill Montigel.

Sebastian Cappelen
Arkansas • Senior
Three-time All-American … making third appearance at All-American Classic, finished second at last year’s event setting a new tournament record in the closing 36-holes (128), while tying the final round score best of 63 … 2013 SEC Individual Champion … three-time PING All-Central Region choice … two-time All-SEC First Team selection … represented Team Europe in Palmer Cup for third-straight year this summer … currently ranked fifth in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … tied for third at the Western Amateur earlier this year … finished first at the Patriot All-America … earned All-SEC Academic honors … majoring in economics … plays for head coach Brad McMakin.

Corey Conners
Kent State • Senior
Two-time All-American … making second appearance at All-American Classic … finished fifth at last year’s event … a two-time GCAA All-Midwest Region selection … earned back-to-back All-MAC First Team and MAC All-Tournament team honors … currently ranked 34th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … won consecutive Gopher Intercollegiate titles in 2012 and 2013 … semifinalist at the 2013 U.S. Amateur in Brookline, Mass. … finished second at the 2013 Canadian Amateur and North South Amateur … tied for fourth at the 2012 NCAA Championship … claimed the 2012 Mid-American Conference individual title … tabbed the 2012 MAC Player of the Year … 2013 All-America Scholar … majoring in mathematics … plays for head coach Herb Page .

Ian Davis
Oklahoma State • Senior
Earned honorable mention All-America honors … an All-Big 12 First Team selection … named to the Ping All-Region Team … tied for first at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate last year … won the Cotton States Invitational earlier this year … was tabbed to the first-team Academic All-Big 12 Team … currently ranked 49th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … majoring in sports management … plays for head coach Alan Bratton.

Tyler Dunlap
Texas A&M • Junior
Earned honorable mention All-America honors … a PING All-Central Region selection in 2012 … tied for eighth at the 2013 NCAA Championships … finished second at the Porter Cup, tied for eighth at the Western Amateur and ninth at the Southern Amateur this summer … earned runner-up honors at the Big 12 Championships in 2012 … finished second at the 2012 Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters … earned a spot on the SEC Men’s Golf Community Service Team … claimed four junior golf titles … won the 2011 U.S. Amateur Sectional qualifying tournament in Hamilton, N.Y. … majoring in business … plays for head coach J.T. Higgins.

Greg Eason
UCF • Senior
Two-time All-American … tabbed to the 2013 First-Team All-Southeast Region … named the 2013 Conference USA Player of the Year … a three-time All-Conference USA Team selection … tied for eighth at the 2013 NCAA Championship … claimed UCF’s first-ever individual NCAA Regional title … won the Ohio State Invitational and Augusta State Invitational … finished first at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational as a junior … tied for 13th at the NCAA Championship and earned medalist honors at the Conference USA Championship as a sophomore … selected the 2011 Conference USA Freshman of the Year … currently ranked 28th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … majoring in communication … plays for head coach Bryce Wallor.

Jonathan Garrick
UCLA • Sophomore
Earned honorable mention All-America honors as a freshman … garnered All-Pac-12 Freshman Team accolades … tied for second at the 2013 NCAA Regional … tied for fifth at the Pac-12 Championships in 2013 …
won the Cal Poly SLO Invitational … tied for fifth at the 2013 Southern Amateur and tied for ninth at the Western Amateur this summer … was a 2011 AJFA First Team All-American … took runner-up honors at the 2011 AJGA Junior Players Championship … plays for head coach Derek Freeman.

*Gavin Green *
New Mexico • Junior
Earned third team All-America honors as a sophomore … a first-team PING All-West selection and an All-Mountain West selection … finished third at the Mountain West Championships … winner at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate … tied for second at the PING Golfweek Preview … finished sixth at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters … currently ranked 18th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … won the 2012 Malaysian Amateur Open and MPI-Saujana Amateur Open … finished sixth at the Selangor Masters this summer … majoring in sports management … plays for head coach Glen Millican.

Jonathan Grey
Georgia State • Sophomore
Earned honorable mention All-American as a freshman … tabbed the Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year and named to the Sun Belt All-Conference First Team … a PING All-Region selection … tied for sixth at the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional … became first GSU golfer to win a collegiate debut and back-to-back tournaments with wins at the Mason Rudolph Championship and Brickyard Collegiate … also finished first at the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular … named to the Sun Belt Championship All-Tournament Team following a fourth-place finish … tied for eighth at the South of England Championship this summer … majoring in psychology … plays for head coach Joe Inman.

Michael Kim
California • Junior
Two-time All-American … garnered the Haskins Award and the Jack Nicklaus Award as the National Player of the Year … a two-time PING All-West Region selection … finalist for The Ben Hogan award … selected as the Pac-12 Player of the Year … earned back-to-back All-Pac 12 team accolades … won the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational and the Fresno State Lexus Classic … tied for first at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters and the Arizona Intercollegiate … currently ranked third in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … finished second at the U.S. Public Links … member of Team USA in this summer’s Palmer Cup … majoring in media studies … plays for head coach Steve Desimone.

M.J. Maguire
North Florida • Junior
Earned third team All-America honors … garnered All-Southeast Region accolades … a two-time Atlantic Sun First Team All-Conference … captured medalist honors at Atlantic Sun Championship marking his first individual collegiate title … tied for second at the NCAA Tallahassee Regional … named to Atlantic Sun All-Freshmen team … tied for second at the Oglethorpe Invitational this summer … earned medalist honors at the 2009 Bobby Chapman as a junior … collected runner-up showings at Golf Pride and Cliffs at Walnut Cover in 2009 … majoring in sports management … plays for head coach Scott Schroeder.

Jordan Niebrugge
Oklahoma State • Sophomore
Earned honorable mention All-America honors as a freshman … named to the All-Big 12 First Team … tied for second at The Prestige at PGA West … finished second at the Morris Williams Intercollegiate … tied for 10th at the NCAA Fayetteville Regional … currently ranked 10th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … member of the 2013 Walker Cup … won the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship this summer … won the Western Amateur Championship and the WSGA Match Play Championship … selected to the 2012 Big 12 All-Rookie Academic Team … majoring in entrepreneurship … plays for head coach Alan Bratton.

Jack Perry
Northwestern • Senior
Earned honorable mention All-America honors … selected to the All-Big Ten First Team … won the Les Bolstad Award for having the Big Ten’s lowest regular season stroke average … runner-up for the Big Ten Player of the Year award … tied for medalist honors at the season-opening Inverness Intercollegiate for his first college win … claimed the Northwestern Spring Invitational … tabbed a Scholar All-American … named to back-to-back Academic All-Big Ten teams … finished third at the Northern Amateur this summer … majoring in communications … plays for head coach Pat Goss.

Rhys Pugh
East Tennessee State • Junior
Two-time Walker Cup member … named Second Team All-Atlantic Sun and Atlantic Sun All-Academic … finished second at the A-Sun Championship … earned a spot in the 2013 Open Championship after winning the European Amateur Championship in August … won the Peter McEvoy and Fairhaven trophies in 2010 … youngest player to represent Wales at the senior level in the Men’s Home Internationals (15 years old)… represented Wales in the European Men’s and Eisenhower Trophy, while also leading the under-18 Great Britain and Ireland Team as the captain … won the 2011 Irish Amateur Open … earned two British under-18 Championships, three Welsh Order of Merit titles, two Clwyd Open titles, and a title at Aberconwy … majoring in sports management … plays for head coach Fred Warren.

Ollie Schniederjans
Georgia Tech • Junior
Earned third team All-America honors … selected to the All-ACC team … tied for eighth at the 2013 NCAA Championship … won the U.S. Collegiate Championship while tying for first at the Carpet Capital Collegiate this fall … finished second at the U.S. Amateur and The Dogwood Invitational this summer … won the 2012 U.S. Amateur qualifier at Piedmont Driving Club … currently ranked third in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … tabbed an Academic All-American … currently ranked 13th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … majoring in business management … plays for head coach Bruce Heppler.

Brad Shigezawa
Claremont-Mudd-Scripps • Senior
Named the NCAA Division III Player of the Year after capturing the NCAA DIII individual title … a two-time DIII All-American … garnered SCIAC Player of the Year honors after earning medalist honors at the SCIAC Championships and both SCIAC regular season tournaments … tied for first at the Collegiate Invite at Jekyll Island … named an All-American Scholar in 2013 … took medalist honors at the SCIAC Championships and finished ninth at the NCAA Championships in 2012 … earned All-American, All-Region and All-SCIAC honors in 2012 … majoring in biology … plays for head coach Bim Jollymour.

Michael Weaver
California • Senior
Two-time All-American … picked up Masters and U.S. Open invitations following a runner-up finish at the 2012 U.S. Amateur … tied for first at the NCAA Pullman Regional … named to the All-West Region and All-Pac-12 First Team teams … finished second at the 2013 Pac-12 Championship … tied for second at the PING/Golfweek Preview … part of the 2013 Palmer Cup and Walker Cup teams … runner-up at the 2012 U.S. Amateur … finished second at the Players Amateur this summer … currently ranked 10th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … majoring in business administration … plays for head coach Steve Desimone.

Cory Whitsett
Alabama • Senior
Three-time All-America selection … making his third appearance in the event … claimed the 2011 Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic title … the current top-ranked amateur by the World Amateur Golf Rankings … tabbed the 2013 SEC Player of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year … first team All-SEC in all three seasons … garnered All-Nicklaus Team honors in 2013 … two-time NCAA Elite 89 Award honoree … named to the All-Mickelson Team in 2011 … member of the 2013 Walker Cup and Palmer Cup squads … majoring in business … plays for head coach Jay Seawell.

Cameron Wilson
Stanford • Senior
Earned third team All-America honors … five top-five finishes … tied for second at the Gifford Intercollegiate at CordeValle … finished ninth at Pac-12 Championship … tied for first at the 2013 Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational … finished fifth at the 2013 Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters and the U.S. Intercollegiate … won sectional qualifier for 2012 U.S. Open … three-time U.S. Amateur participant … finished first at 2012 Metropolitan Golf Association and third in 2011 … currently 25th third in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … two-time All-America Scholar … majoring in history … plays for head coach Conrad Ray.

Bobby Wyatt
Alabama • Senior
Two-time All-American … garnered All-SEC accolades all three years … has 15 top-five finishes … took runner-up honors at the 2013 NCAA Baton Rouge Regional and Aggie Invitational … selected to the 2013 U.S. Walker Cup Team … currently ranked 16th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings … medalist at the 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club … finished runner-up at the SEC Championship and NCAA Athens Regional as a sophomore … tabbed to the SEC All-Freshman team … a four-time champion at the Alabama Boys State Championship … majoring in business management … plays for head coach Jay Seawell.