Li Named Semifinalist For Jack Nicklaus Award

(NORMAN, Okla.) – For the second straight season, sophomore Jason Li (Sewickley, Pa./Sewickley Academy) of the Carnegie Mellon University men's golf team has been named by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) as a semifinalist for the NCAA Division III Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award presented by Barbasol. The Nicklaus Award recognizes the top players at the Division I, II, III, NAIA and NJCAA levels.

Li, who recently was named University Athletic Association (UAA) Player of the Year, is one of 30 Division III golfers who will be considered for the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award.

Li finished the season with a team-best average round of 72.5 through 21 rounds and tied the school record with a four-under par 67 in the closing round of the Strimer Memorial Invitational. Li has posted four rounds under 70 this season with eight of his 21 rounds he has shot under par. The sophomore is currently ranked sixth nationally as an individual in Division III statistically.

The UAA Player of the Year won both of his matches during the UAA match play championship in March, topping Matthew Shen of NYU 8-and-6 and Emory's Connor Yakubov 6-and-5 on his way to being named to his second straight UAA Championship All-Tournament team.

Li has helped the Tartans to the program's third trip to the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championships, which will be played May 14-17 at the Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky, on the Champion Trace Course and the Keene Run Golf Course.

The finalists will be announced at the GCAA Division III National Awards Banquet in Nicholasville, Kentucky on May 14. The event will serve as part of the festivities surrounding the NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship. Nicklaus Award recipients will be announced May 30 with the honor presented by Jack Nicklaus at a ceremony during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

The five recipients will compete in the Barbasol Shootout for an exemption into the PGA TOUR's Barbasol Championship, held July 18-21, at the Champions at Keene Trace. The Barbasol Shootout will be held Saturday, June 1 at The Ohio State University Golf Club's Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio - the same club where Jack Nicklaus played collegiate golf for the Buckeyes.