Central Alabama Community College's Tim Walker has been named the winner of the Jack Nicklaus Award, sponsored by the Golf Coaches Association of America, as the top college golfer in the NJCAA.
Walker, who will be transferring to Mississippi State University next fall, had 3 victories, three 2nd place and 6 other top-10 finishes this season for the Trojans.
Walker, of Victoria, Australia, became the first CACC Trojan golf to receive the Nicklaus Award. Walker's year was outstanding, following up a Trojan Team National Championship victory as a freshman, Walker was the #1 ranked golfer in all of the junior college polls throughout the 2013-14 golf seasons.
Unable to make the trip to Columbus, Ohio to receive the award, CACC Golf Coach Dave Jennings humbly received the award on Walker's behalf. When interviewed, Jennings stated that this meeting with Jack Nicklaus at Muirfield Village during the Memorial Invitational was a show stopper for his 39 year golfing career. However, he wishes Tim could have been able to make the trip because it was one to cherish and remember for a lifetime. Jennings said: Tim is so deserving of being recognized because of his work ethic at practice and on the course as well as in the classroom. Not only is Walker a fine golfer but he was also a Dean's List student as well.
Barry University's Adam Svensson (Division II), University of the Redlands' Bobby Holden (Division III), Oklahoma City University's James Marchesani (NAIA) and Stanford junior Patrick Rodgers (Division I) also were recognized as the player of the year at their respective level.
Since 1988, the award for the GCAA Collegiate Players of the Year has been named after Jack Nicklaus, a Big Ten and NCAA Champion at The Ohio State University. Mr. Nicklaus annually recognizes the recipients during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, just outside of Nicklaus' hometown of Columbus.