Van Sickle Back On Top of Golfstat Cup Standings

Mike is back on top of the Golfstat Cup ratings. The Golfstat Cup Award is administered by Golfstat, Inc., and is given to the collegiate player (NCAA Divisions I, II, or III, NAIA and junior colleges), who boasts the best scoring average versus par.

This week's Golfstat Cup standings are located here:
http://www.golfstat.com/2008-2009/men/mgscup/mgscup.htm

Past recipients of the Golfstat Cup Award include present all-Americans Jamie Lovemark (USC) and Rickie Fowler (Oklahoma State), who took home the honor in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Tiger Woods (Stanford) won the award in 1996.

Mike had led the Golfstat Cup standings briefly during the 2008 fall season, but Dustin Garza (Wichita State) had overtaken the lead by the turn of the year.

A player needs to play a total of 20 rounds in order to be eligible for the honor at the end of the year. Mike has already played 18 rounds with at least five team events scheduled for the spring.

The Golfstat Cup standings will be updated every Monday through the conclusion of the fall season.

Journal Sentinel's D'Amato picks up on yesterday's release

Golf beat writer Gary D'Amato of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published a column on Mike Van Sickle being named to the 2009 watch list for The Ben Hogan Award. D'Amato goes on to briefly recap Mike's remarkable season thus far.

Link to the story at JS Online (Feb. 13, 2009): http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/39554452.html

Van Sickle named to Hogan Award watch list

Mike Van Sickle was just named to The Ben Hogan Award watch list for 2009. The award is perhaps the prestigious in men's collegiate golf as it honors the top player over the past 12 months, taking into consideration all collegiate and amateur events.

Mike was one of 22 players named to the watch list. Read the full Marquette University press release here: http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/m-golf/spec-rel/021209aaa.html

'09 Player of the Year?

I received the Feb. 7, 2009 edition of Golfweek and noticed in the publication's "Spring Preview" section that Ron Balicki and Asher Wildman have predicted that Mike Van Sickle will take home 2009 player of the year honors under "Staff Picks." Lance Ringler chose Indiana's Jorge Campillo.

Van Sickle won four out of the six collegiate events in which he participated in this past fall season, including three straight victories capped off by the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic title in November.