University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Ereño, Morales Named to Ben Hogan Award Watch List
January 29, 2025 | Men's Golf
FORT WORTH, Texas – UCLA seniors Pablo Ereño and Omar Morales have been named to the 35-man watch list for this season's Ben Hogan Award, which annually honors the most accomplished collegiate golfer.
The Ben Hogan Award is presented to the top men's NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer each year, based on all collegiate, amateur and professional events of the past 12 months. This year's watch list includes 16 seniors, 10 juniors and nine sophomores. UCLA is one of nine schools to have multiple golfers selected to the watch list.
Both Ereño and Morales had strong fall campaigns for the Bruins in September and October of 2024. Ereño posted a scoring average through four fall events of 69.6. He was in the Bruins' starting lineup at all four of those fall competitions. Ereño earned his first medal in his collegiate career in the Bruins' opening fall event (The Tindall), scoring an 11-under 202 at Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, Wash.
Morales recorded a scoring average through four fall events of 69.7. Along with Ereño, Morales competed in the Bruins' starting lineup in all four fall events. He finished tied for fifth place at The Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate in mid-October and tied for sixth overall at The Preserve Golf Club Collegiate during the final week of October.
Last summer, Morales competed in this second consecutive U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst Village, N.C. He missed the cut at +7 (73-74) and finished seventh among 16 amateurs in the field. Morales had won his U.S. Open Qualifying Round at Lake Merced Golf Club in Daly City, going birdie-birdie on his final two holes to secure the spot in the U.S. Open's field of 156.
The Ben Hogan Award's list of 10 semifinalists, which can include individuals who are not selected to this watch list, will be unveiled on Thursday, April 17. That group will be pared down to three finalists on Tuesday, May 6. The winner will be crowned at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday, May 19.
The Ben Hogan Award has honored the outstanding amateur collegiate golfer at Colonial Country Club since 2002. Prior to the move to Fort Worth, the original Ben Hogan Trophy (which was awarded based on a different list of criteria) was issued at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles beginning in 1990.
