The University of Mississippi Athletics
Randolph Named 1st Team All-American
6/4/2010 | Men's Golf
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Jonathan Randolph, a rising senior on the Ole Miss men's golf team, was named a PING First Team All-America selection by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) Friday, following the stroke-play portion of the NCAA Championships.
Randolph becomes the ninth All-American in the history of the program and the second to earn first team honors. Dave Peege earned first team honors in 1984 and '85. The Brandon, Miss., native is the sixth All-American under head coach Ernest Ross.
"I'm extremely proud of Jonathan on this terrific and well-deserved honor. To be named among the top college golfers is a dream for any player. He has worked hard to reach this pinnacle. He is also a great leader for our team with his work ethic and attention to detail," Ross said.
Randolph had an outstanding junior year. He is ranked No. 6 in the Golfweek Rankings and earned All-SEC first team honors. Randolph just missed out on advancing to the NCAA Championship Finals being held this week in Chattanooga. He led the SEC in stroke average all year and posted three wins. In seven starts this spring, Randolph finished with two wins and six top-five performances, including third at the SEC Championship and the NCAA Southeast Regional.
Joining Randolph on the list are John Chin of UC Irvine, Texas Tech's Nils Floren, Dustin Garza of Wichita State, Georgia's Russell Henley, Scott Langley of Illinois, Texas A&M's Andrea Pavan, Washington's Nick Taylor, Peter Uihlein of Oklahoma State, Oregon State's Diego Velasquez and Oregon's Eugene Wong.
"It's a great honor to be on the list with the rest of those guys," said Randolph shortly after completely his second round at the Mississippi State Amateur. "They're all great players. Even some of the good tour players didn't make it (First Team All-American). It's a great accomplishment, and I am happy that all my hard work is paying off."
Randolph is well on his way to becoming one of the best golfers to ever play at Ole Miss. His 70.44 stroke average this past year is a school best, breaking the previous record (70.80, 1983-84), held by Peege. Randolph is tied for first with most rounds at par or better (27) in a season. He also ranks second for most top-five finishes (8) and most rounds under par (18) in a season. Randolph's 13 rounds in the 60s this past year is the most in a season.
Selected to the Palmer Cup Team, Randolph has a busy summer ahead of him. Following the State Am, Randolph will head across the pond to try to qualify for the British Amateur Championship before taking part in the Palmer Cup June 24-26 in Northern Ireland.
Division I PING First-Team All-Americans
John Chin, UC Irvine
Nils Floren, Texas Tech
Dustin Garza, Wichita State
Russell Henley, Georgia
Scott Langley, Illinois
Andrea Pavan, Texas A&M
Jonathan Randolph, Ole Miss
Nick Taylor, Washington
Peter Uihlein, Oklahoma State
Diego Velasquez, Oregon State
Eugene Wong, Oregon
