Horschel Named SEC Golfer of the Year, McKenney Earns Second Team All-SEC Honors
Monday, April 27, 2009 | Men's Golf
University of Florida senior golfer Billy Horschel (Grant, Fla.) was named the Southeastern Conference Golfer of the Year and junior Tim McKenney (Scottsdale, Ariz.) was named a second-team All-SEC performer, announced today.
Horschel was also a unanimous first-team All-SEC selection in the coaches' voting. Horschel joins Gator Great Gary Koch as the only two players in Florida golf history to earn first-team honors four times.
“That's pretty high praise,” said head coach Buddy Alexander. “It's pretty awesome to be just the second Gator to earn first-team honors four times. If the postseason goes well, he has a chance to be a three-time first-team All-American and a second-team once. Billy's had a terrific career, he works really hard and he's deserving of this.”
Horschel leads the SEC in scoring average this season, averaging 71.15 strokes per round. He placed in the top seven in seven of nine tournaments this season. He shot par-or-better in 19 of his 26 rounds this season. He is currently ranked 11th in the nation in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index Ratings. He was the individual medalist at the recently-concluded SEC Championships and was also named SEC Golfer of the Week in March. Horschel is also a semifinalist for the 2009 Ben Hogan Award, college golf's most prestigious award.
McKenney started off his season with a second-place finish at the Duke Individual Collegiate, and proceeded to tie for first in his next event at the Columbia Invitational. He totaled five top-five finishes on the season in just nine appearances. He has a 72.81 scoring average on the season, 11th-best in the SEC.
“It's nice to see Tim step up after a disappointing season last year,” said Coach Alexander. “He's improved a lot and we needed someone to do that. From a coach's standpoint, you get a lot of satisfaction when you step back and see the improvement in your players and Tim has really shown that this year.”
The Gators await an NCAA Regional bid to one of six host sites, May 14-16. The NCAA Championships take place May 27-30 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.
SEC COACH OF THE YEAR: Brad McMakin, Arkansas
SEC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR: Mark Silvers III, South Carolina
SEC GOLFER OF THE YEAR: Billy Horschel, Florida
SEC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Bud Cauley, Alabama
FIRST-TEAM ALL-SEC
*Billy Horschel, Florida, Sr.
*Brian Harman , Georgia, Sr.
*Russell Henley, Georgia, So.
*Bud Cauley, Alabama, Fr.
Hudson Swafford, Georgia, Jr.
John Peterson, LSU, So.
Chris Paisley, Tennessee, Sr.
Harris English, Georgia, So.
Andrew Landry, Arkansas, Sr.
SECOND-TEAM ALL-SEC
George Bryan IV, South Carolina, Jr.
Robin Wingardh, Tennessee, So.
Adam Mitchell, Georgia, Sr.
Mark Silvers, South Carolina, Sr.
Joe David, Ole Miss, Fr.
David Lingmerth, Arkansas, Jr.
Tim McKenney, Florida, Jr.
Andy Winings, Kentucky, Sr.
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Joe David, Ole Miss
Sean Dale, Ole Miss
Bud Cauley, Alabama
Sang Yi, LSU
Wesley Bryan, South Carolina
Ethan Tracy, Arkansas
Hunter Hamrick, Alabama
Darren Renwick, Tennessee
*unanimous selection
-UF-
