From Emory University Athletics
Freshman Matt Organisak (Sudbury, MA), a key member of the No. 4-ranked Emory men's golf team, has been named by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) as NCAA Division III semifinalist for the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Barbasol. The Nicklaus Award recognizes the top players at the Division I, II, III, NAIA and NJCAA levels.
Organisak is one of 30 Division III golfers who will be considered for the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award.
Organisak has played in all of Emory's tournaments this season, averaging a team-best (10 rounds or more) 73.6 strokes over 19 rounds of action.He has either tied or ranked as the team's top performer on three occasions and has recorded a team-high tying five rounds of par or better. His best 18-hole effort of the season was a final-round 69 at the Golfweek DIII Fall Invitational, where he tied for fifth out of 95 competitors with a 54-hole score of 214, good for a third-place tie on the program's all-time ladder for a three-round mark. His top 36-hole effort was a four-under par 140 (70-70) at the Royal Lakes/Oglethorpe Fall Invitational, ranking fifth out of 102 entries and tying for fourth all-time at Emory.
During the spring portion of the schedule, Organisak helped Emory to a first-place finish at the Callaway Gardens Intercollegiate by shooting a team-best 148 (74-74), tying for 10th on the leader board in a 102-player field.
The finalists for D-III will be announced May 16 at the GCAA Division III National Awards Banquet in Howey-in-the-Hills, Florida. The event will serve as part of the festivities surrounding the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship May 16 through 19. Nicklaus Award recipients will be announced June 1 with the honor presented by Jack Nicklaus at a ceremony during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide at Muirfield Village Golf Club.
The five recipients will compete in the Barbasol Shootout for an exemption into the PGA TOUR's Barbasol Championship, held July 20-23, at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Grand National in Opelika, Ala. The Barbasol Shootout will be held Saturday, June 3 at the storied Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio - the same club where Jack Nicklaus first learned the game of golf as a young boy.
Division III Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Barbasol Semifinalists
Jacob Arnett, Oglethorpe
Jarrod Brown, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Craig Decato, Methodist
Ryan Elmore, Berry
Mack Farley, St. John's (MN)
Ryan Gallagher, St. John's (MN)
Josh Gibson, Hope
Levi Grogan, Greensboro
Brady Hanson, Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Blake Hartford, Schreiner
Mats Heien, Mary Hardin-Baylor
Sam Hill, UT Tyler
Seger Howell, Concordia (TX)
Davis Jensen, Methodist
Addison Lambeth, Huntingdon
Logan Lanier, LaGrange
Conner O'Neil, Illinois Wesleyan
Matt Organisak, Emory
Grant Powell, Greensboro
George Qian, Carnegie Mellon
David Rabil, Christopher Newport
Brandon Rougeau, UT Tyler
Jonathan Shaw, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Kyle Shealy, Oglethorpe
Matt Shuman, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
Sam Stilwell, Wittenberg
Mason Stutler, Methodist
Osborn Theam, LaGrange
Will Thrash, Huntingdon
John Van Noord, Calvin