Six PBC Golfers Named All-American

AUGUSTA, GA -- Six Peach Belt Conference golfers were named to the PING All-America team as announced by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA). USC Aiken’s Jeff Goff, Clayton State’s Will Wilcox and Armstrong Atlantic State’s Chris Wolfe were all named first-team All-Americans. USCA’s Roberto Diaz, Columbus State’s Andrew Georgiou and GCSU’s Niclas Johansson were named second-team. GCSU’s Juan Bialet and Joe Young were also named honorable mention.

Goff capped off an amazing two-year career at USC Aiken by winning the 2008 NCAA Division II Individual National Championship. The former South Carolina State Amateur Champion fired a 72-hole total of two-under-par 278 and beat fellow First-Team All-American Jude Eustaquio of Florida Southern on the first playoff hole to claim medalist honors. Goff joins Burkhart as the only Pacer golfers to win the individual championship and take home the Arnold Palmer Award.

Wilcox becomes the first Laker player in Clayton State men’s golf history to garner Division II first team All-American honors. The seventh-ranked player in Division II, according to Golfstat, Wilcox’s scoring average of 71.1 is the best ever in a season for a player at Clayton State, and he has posted four tournament championships and 11 Top 10 finishes combined in the fall and spring. In addition to becoming the first ever player from Clayton State to win the Peach Belt Conference individual championship, Wilcox also posted tournament championships at the Orchard Fall Classic, the Alfac/Cougar Invitational and the Southbridge Pirate Invitational.

Wolfe becomes just the second AASU men’s golfer to earn first team All-America honors, joining Thomas Whittaker (2004). The 2008 Peach Belt Conference’s Player of the Year and an upcoming member of the USA vs. Japan collegiate squad, Wolfe won a school-record four tournaments this season and carded AASU’s first-ever under-par season stroke average at 71.91. Wolfe was a third-team All-America honoree as a sophomore in 2007 and is the Pirates’ first two-time All-America in men’s golf since the reinstatement of the program in 2000-01.

Diaz led the Pacers in stroke average for the second-straight season, posting a 73.05 scoring average in 40 rounds. The Veracruz, Mexico native three times finished as runner-up, highlighting eight top 10’s and placing inside the top 20 in 12 of 14 events. A Third-Team PING All-American as a freshman, Diaz becomes the sixth Pacer to attain All-America status three times. With his senior season still to come, he sets up the opportunity to join Brian Kassel (1993-96) and Jamie Stanley (1994-97) as the school’s only four-time All-Americans.

For the third straight year, Columbus State’s Andrew Georgiou has been named an All-American. The South African native was named to the PING All-America second team after compiling a team-best stroke average of 72.5. He earned his first collegiate victory with a win at the Buccaneer Invitational back in April. Georgiou never finished outside the top 20 in 12 events played. He was a first team All-American as a sophomore, and was honorable mention as a freshman.

Johansson is just the second two-time All-American in GCSU school history, thanks to last year’s honorable mention nod. Johansson had a stellar year, winning the NCAA Division II Southeast Region Tournament with a four-under 211. He was selected All-Peach Belt Conference (PBC) as well. He posted a team-low stroke average of 73.4, and made the top-20 in eight of his 10 tournaments on the season. Johansson led the Bobcats at the NCAA finals in 11th place, shooting three over.