Knauth Named Finalist for Jack Nicklaus Award

(NORMAN, Okla.) – Senior William Knauth (Williamsport, Pa. / Williamsport Area) of the Carnegie Mellon University men's golf team has been named by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) as a finalist for the NCAA Division III Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award. The Nicklaus Award recognizes the top players at the Division I, II, III, NAIA and NJCAA levels.

Knauth was recently named the Byron Nelson Award recipient for his achievement in the classroom, on the course, and in his community. Knauth led Division III in scoring average with a 71.0 stroke average through 22 rounds before completing his career with an 18th-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship where the Carnegie Mellon men's golf team placed sixth. For the season, Knauth won two individual events and had 16 rounds of even par or lower.

The senior set two school records this season with a single-round score of 65 twice and a 36-hole score of 137. At the 2022 UAA Championships, Knauth defeated both of his opponents and was named the tournament MVP while he was later honored as the UAA Men's Golf Player of the Year, earned PING All-Region honors and was named a PING First-Team All-American.

The other Division III finalists for the award include; Nicholas Gianelos of Babson, Will Hocker of Webster, Cooper Hrabak of Methodist and Jackson Klutznick of Emory. The winner will be announced on June 5 at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, and presented by award namesake Jack Nicklaus during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday.