Two men's golfers named National Player of Year semifinalists

Eastern Florida State College's Brad Bawden and Mathieu Echelard were both honored this week as semifinalists for the NJCAA Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Barbasol.

Former Titan Kerry Sweeney won the award the past two seasons and now both Bawden and Echelard have a chance to keep the award in the Eastern Florida State College family.

Bawden and Echelard led the Titans to another District 4 Championship earlier in the week and are two of the 15 players nominated for the Jack Nicklaus Award.

Bawden, a freshman from England, has two wins and placed second twice including a second-place finish at the District 4 Championship.

"Brad has had a very good year, if you talked to him he would probably talk about the missed opportunities but he has been consistent and steady all season," Eastern Florida State College men's golf coach Jamie Howell said.

Echelard, a freshman from France, has a win and has finished in the top 10 in every event this spring after sitting out the fall season.

"Mathieu was very good when he arrived, we just wanted him to get his feet on the ground before joining the team, but it is no surprise to anyone how good he was," Howell said. "Mathieu has made us that much better, we were pretty good in the fall but we were missing some firepower and he has stepped in and done a good job."

Finalists will be announced on May 15 and recipients will be announced by Jack Nicklaus June 4 during a ceremony at the PGA Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance at Muirfield Village Golf Club. In addition to receiving the National Player of the Year Award, 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.