By: KSU Sports Information
Full Golf World story
BOONE, Iowa. –Just days before the 2011 golf season begins, GolfWorld released their list of top-50 college golfers to watch for in 2011 with two Kennesaw State Owls making the list. Seniors
Jeff Karlsson and
Matt Nagy were both rewarded for their past success, as both have student-athletes have piled up the accolades and honors over the past three years.
"It is always a great honor to have your athletes recognized among the nation's best. For us to have two golfers named to GolfWorld's top 50 players to watch list is phenomenal," Head Coach Jay Moseley said. "Jeff and Matt had great seasons for us last year and we are expecting big things out of them again this year. They have worked very hard and deserve all the awards and attention they receive."
With this honor, Karlsson can add another achievement to his ever-growing resumé. Karlsson was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Men's Golfer of the Year and a week later; the Golf Coaches Association of America named him a Division I PING Second Team All-American. The rising senior was named a 2010-11 Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar for achieving at least a 3.2 grade point average while maintaining a stroke average of 76.0 or better.
Karlsson's season included wins at the Sam Hill Intercollegiate, the Seminole Classic, and the A-Sun Championships. In his victory at the A-Sun Championships, Karlsson set program records with a three-round total of 207 and a first-round 67 en route to becoming KSU's first medalist at the event.
In the NCAA Regional Championship in Ocala, Fla., Karlsson fired a 69 and 67 in the final two days to earn sixth place individually at seven-under-par and help the Owls to third place and a spot in the NCAA National Championship for the first time in program history. His 70.61 stroke average was second lowest in all of DI college golf behind only UCLA’s Patrick Cantlay. Karlsson led the nation with a 4.56 stroke average on par-5’s.
Nagy’s season featured five top-five finishes including wins at the Rees Jones Intercollegiate and at the Barefoot at the Beach Intercollegiate. He finished second at the A-Sun Championship shooting three-under-par, 210 and was named to the A-Sun All-Tournament Team.
Nagy finished 34th in the Golfstat Cup and is ranked 82nd in the Golfweek/Sargin rankings. He was also a multiple A-Sun Golfer of the Week award winner, garnering the honor twice this spring. His stroke average for the season was a 71.00 with his lowest round of 67 coming at the Irish Creek Intercollegiate.
"The two of them are both great leaders and have performed well in the classroom as well," Moseley said. "There are not two other golfers in all of college golf that I would rather have as ambassadors for our program than Matt and Jeff."
The two seniors have helped guide the Owls to a ranking of 47 as the team looks to build on their success Friday with the season opener at the Carpet Capital Collegiate Classic in Dalton, Ga. The event will be hosted by Georgia Tech and will be held at The Farm Golf Club.
For complete coverage of the KSU men’s golf team, visit
KSUOwls.com or follow the team on Twitter at KSUOwlsMensGolf.
