NORMAN, Okla. -- The Golf Coaches Association of America has announced the finalists for the 2007 Byron Nelson Award presented by Cleveland Golf, in cooperation with the Four Seasons Resort and Club Las Colinas and the Salesmanship Club of Dallas. Finalists for the 2007 Nelson include Louie Bishop of UC Davis, Georgia Tech’s Roberto Castro, Sam Korbe of Tulsa, Georgia’s Brendon Todd and Chris Wilson of Northwestern. Candidates
for the Nelson must be a graduating senior and the selection committee will consider equally a nominee’s entire collegiate academic career, entire collegiate golf career and his character and integrity while in college. Particular consideration will be given to a nominee’s good citizenship, as portrayed by Mr. Byron Nelson over the course of his life and golf career.
Bishop has posted two wins this season, as well as four other top 10 showings. He has established a team study hall program and is a very active member of the community. Bishop - who was as Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar last season - has maintained the highest GPA for a UC Davis golfer each of his first three seasons.
A three-time All-America selection - including first-team honors in 2005, Castro has been named All-ACC four times and played i two Palmer Cups. He recorded his first collegiate tournament victory this season and also won a dual competition in addition to five other top 10 showings. Castro was named a Cleveland Golf All-America
Scholar and a CoSIDA first-team Academic All-American in 2006.
Korbe claimed one tournament victory this season and placed in the top 10 on four other occasions. A first-team C-USA selection in 2006, he was named second-team all-conference in 2005 and ‘07. He was named the C-USA Scholar Athlete of the Year for golf last season and is a presidential scholar at Tulsa. He volunteers twice weekly in the emergency room at Tulsa’s St. John’s Hospital.
Todd - a three-time All-America honoree - has been named All-SEC four times, including the first team on three occasions. He has placed in the top 10 in six events in 2006-07. Georgia’s team captain, Todd is active with both the Special Olympics and junior golf. A Cleveland Golf All-America Scholar, he was named the recipient of the UGA Boyd-McWhorter Postgraduate Scholarship, which is presented to the male athlete with an outstanding academic and athletic career.
A two-time All-Big Ten selection, Wilson has finished in the top 20 seven times this season. The Wildcats’ team captain, he was one of four Northwestern student-athletes who designed the recruiting policy that is currently used by the school and member of the task force for creation of Northwestern Athletics’ Peer Mentoring Program.
He received the Big Ten’s Sportsmanship Award in 2005.
The Nelson - which is in its sixth year of sponsorship with Cleveland Golf - will be named prior to the NCAA Championships.
