FORT WORTH, Texas — Vanderbilt men’s golf senior Wells Williams was one of 35 collegiate golfers named to the 2026 Ben Hogan Award Watch List, the organization announced on Wednesday.
Williams was selected to the watch list for the 2026 Ben Hogan Award presented by Baird after a stellar 2025 fall season. The West Point, Mississippi, native posted a scoring average of 70.08 and collected a top-10 finish in all four tournaments he competed in. Additionally, Williams opens the spring season at No. 5 in the PGA TOUR University rankings, which also came out on Wednesday for the first time this spring.
The senior carded under par in eight of his 12 rounds in the fall. He also held a 54-hole score of par or better in all four tournaments, finishing under par in three events. Williams’ score counted in all 12 rounds during the 2025 fall campaign, as he has an active scoring-counting streak of 50 rounds dating back to the 2023-24 season.
Williams helped Vanderbilt win three of its four fall tournaments. He posted his highest finish of the fall at The Invitational at the Honors Course, as the senior tied for third after carding 5-under 211. Williams twice posted a season-low 54-hole total of 6-under 210 and held an 18-hole low of 6-under 66 during the fall campaign. The senior had a hole-in-one at the in Round 1 of the Ben Hogan Collegiate, as he dunked Hole 13.
The Ben Hogan Award annually awards the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer based on results from all collegiate, amateur and professional events played over the previous 12 months. An esteemed international selection committee, comprised of 40 leaders in collegiate, amateur and professional golf, votes during each stage of the process.
The Ben Hogan Award has honored the outstanding amateur collegiate golfer at Colonial Country Club since 2002. This year marks the 25thanniversary in Fort Worth. The original Ben Hogan Trophy, which utilized a different set of criteria, was issued by the Friends of Golf (FOG) at Bel-Air Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif., beginning in 1990.
Williams’ inclusion on the Ben Hogan Award Watch List marks his second national player of the year watch list that the senior has been selected to this season. Back in November, Williams was named to the 2025-26 Haskins Award, presented by Stifel, Final Fall Watch List.
Vanderbilt men’s golf opens the 2026 season in a few short weeks. The Commodores return to action Feb. 16-18, when they open the 2026 spring season at the Watersound Invitational in Panama City, Florida.
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