After the vote count by the Ben Hogan Award Selection Committee, the 10 semi-finalists for the 2025 edition of the award, one of the most prestigious in collegiate golf worldwide, have been announced. Among them is Spaniard José Luis Ballester, representing Arizona State University and one of the great promises of European golf.
In addition to Ballester, the list includes: Luke Clanton (Florida State), David Ford (North Carolina), Ian Gilligan (Florida), Ben James (Virginia), Jackson Koivun (Auburn), Michael La Sasso (Ole Miss), Christiaan Maas (Texas), Tommy Morrison (Texas) and Brendan Valdes (Auburn).
The Ben Hogan Award has been awarded annually since 1990 to the best male collegiate golfer from NCAA divisions I, II, III, as well as NAIA and NJCAA, considering their performance in collegiate, amateur, and professional competitions over the past 12 months. The announcement was made jointly by the Hogan Trophy Award Foundation, the Friends of Golf (FOG), and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA).
The list of semi-finalists includes four seniors, five juniors, and one sophomore. The multiple presence of players from Auburn and Texas stands out, while the SEC (South Eastern Conference) leads the representation by conferences with six players, followed by the ACC with three and the Big 12 with one.
Several of the semi-finalists already have previous experience with the award: Jackson Koivun was the winner in 2024, while David Ford reaches his third consecutive semi-final. Luke Clanton and Ben James repeat as semi-finalists for the second year in a row.
The final selection of the three finalists will be announced on Tuesday, 6 May and the winner will be revealed at a gala ceremony on Monday, 19 May at the Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth (Texas), also the venue for the Charles Schwab Challenge of the PGA Tour.
Since 2002, winners of the Ben Hogan Award have amassed over 70 victories on the PGA Tour and accumulated more than 465 million dollars in prizes. Names like Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland, and Ludvig Åberg are among its illustrious winners.
With this nomination, Josele Ballester consolidates himself as one of the leading figures in collegiate golf and one of the greatest hopes of Spanish golf for the future.
