Jack Nicklaus Release and Award History

NORMAN, Okla. -- Delta State University men's golfer Zach Zediker earned NCAA Division II Golf's highest honor when he was named the Jack Nicklaus Award winner by the Jack Nicklaus Foundation on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. 

Zediker is the first Statesmen and the fourth overall Jack Nicklaus winner from the Gulf South Conference. Previous winners from the GSC were Chandler Blanchet (West Florida, 2017), Brett Munson (North Alabama, 2010) and Brent Witcher (Valdosta State, 2009).

"The Jack Nicklaus Award is the highest accolade a Division II golfer can receive," Delta State Men's Golf Coach Easton Key said. "Zach winning this award shows just how special of a season he had this past year and it is up there with the most memorable accomplishments in school history. Zach Zediker has represented Delta State and our golf team so well, and he will always be one of the best to do it at our level."

Zediker adds the honor to an ever-expanding honors list that includes Delta State's Charles S. Kerg Top Male Senor Student-Athlete Award, a GSC Top 10 award, a PING First-Team All-American nod, and NCAA All-South Region selection. Zediker was also selected as the only Division II golfer for the United States Arnold Palmer Cup team, which will be played on Dec. 21-23 at the Bay Hill Golf and Lodge in Orlando, Fla. Zediker played in all six events for DSU before the spring season was canceled, garnering GSC Golfer of the Month twice and finishing the pandemic-shortened season ranked No. 1 in the Golfstat and GCAA DII National rankings.
 
The Panama City, Fla.native, was the low medalist in four tournaments and runner-up in two others in 2019-20. After finishing second in the season opener at the Cougar Invitational, Zediker went on a tear by capturing the Derrall Foreman Invitational individual title, the NCAA Division II National Preview title, the Matt Dyas Invitational title, and the Hurricane Invitational individual title. Zediker closed the year with a runner-up finish at the Mississippi College Invitational in February.
 
In the classroom, Zediker earned Gulf South Conference All-Academic team honors in 2018-19. His 3.38 GPA in health, physical education, and recreation landed him on the GSC Spring Academic Honor Roll three times. 
The Men's Golf team SAAC representative also made his presence felt in the community and on campus. His community activities include time at the Bolivar County Animal Shelter, reading at Pearman Elementary School, Sacred Heart Missions, and working with special needs kids. His on-campus activities include volunteer timer at Delta State Swimming and Diving meets, participating in the Pink Mile walk for breast cancer awareness, Delta Down and Dirty mud run for youth, DSU athletics Trunk-or-Treat, and with Make-A-Wish fundraisers events.
 
The award, given annually to the nation's top collegiate golfer across Divisions I, II and III, plus the NAIA and NCJAA, is one of college golf's most esteemed honors. Past winners include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas. In 2019, Oklahoma State's Matthew Wolff claimed the award just weeks before winning the 3M Open in his third-ever professional start.

Nicklaus and the GCAA worked in tandem to select finalists for the award after the coronavirus prematurely ended the 2019-20 collegiate season. The winners will be announced during the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, scheduled for July 13-19 at Muirfield Village GC, in Ohio. 

Nicklaus was a decorated collegiate golfer at Ohio State in the early 1960s. He won a pair of U.S. Amateur championships and an NCAA Championship before turning pro shortly after graduation.

2020 Jack Nicklaus Winners
Divison I: Sahith Theegala (Pepperdine) won a pair of tournaments, claiming victories at the Southwest Invitational and the Alister Mackenzie Invitational. The Chino Hills, Calif., native also posted four top-10 finishes and finished inside the top-20 in all eight events. The senior finished the season with a 69.04 scoring average over 24 rounds played and was named a PING First Team All-American. He is the first winner of the Jack Nicklaus Award from Pepperdine.

Division II: Zediker claimed four victories during his senior campaign and finished with a 67.83 stroke average. The Panama City, Fla., native opened the season with a runner up finish at the Cougar Invitational, before rattling off four straight victories. Zediker was named a PING First Team All-American and is the first winner of the Jack Nicklaus Award from Delta State. Additionally, Zediker claimed the Golfstat Cup, awarded to the college golfer with the lowest adjusted scoring average in the nation.

Division III: Rob Wuethrich (Illinois Wesleyan) posted a scoring average of 70.2 and finished the year ranked No. 1 in the final Golfstat NCAA Division III rankings. The PING First Team All-American honoree had four victories, with wins coming at the CCIW Preview, Gordin Collegiate Classic, Golfweek Fall Preview, and the Tim Kopka Memorial Tournament. Wuethrich did not finish outside the top-six this season and is the first Jack Nicklaus Award winner from Illinois Wesleyan.

NAIA: A Ringgold, Ga., native, Rob Rebne posted a scoring average of 70.89 his senior campaign, and finished the season ranked third in the final NAIA Golfstat Ranking. The PING First Team All-American and Southern States Conference Player of the Year won four individual titles, posted five top-five finishes, and never finished outside the top-10 in all six events. Rebne becomes the fourth Dalton State player to win the Jack Nicklaus Award in the last six years.

NJCAA: Jon Hopkins recorded a trio of wins during 2019-20, claiming victories at the Itawamba Fall Invite, NJCAA Tournament Preview, and MGCCC Fall invite. The Bishop's Stortford, England, native also totaled four top-10 finishes over the course of the season. The PING First Team All-America honoree tallied a scoring average of 71.61 and is the first Jack Nicklaus Award winner from Mississippi Gulf Coast. Hopkins will continue his college career next season at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Jack Nicklaus Release and Award History
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