MALIBU, Calif. – Pepperdine graduate student Derek Hitchner and senior William Mouw have been named to the watch list for the Ben Hogan Award, which recognizes the top college golfer based on all collegiate, amateur or professional events over the previous 12 months. 

This year, 37 of the nation's most accomplished collegiate golfers have been named to the watch list.  Ten semifinalists will be named on April 14, followed by three finalists on May 4.  The winner will be named on May 22 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas. 

Through four seasons as a Wave, Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) has posted a scoring average of 71.78, which ranks eighth all-time in Pepperdine history.  He has had 10 top-10 finishes and 43 below-par rounds. He received All-American honorable mention status from Golfweek in 2022. In the classroom, he was a 2022 GCAA All-American Scholar and WCC All-Academic first team selection. He is currently ranked 9th in the country by Golfweek/Sagarin. 

Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian) has been named an All-American in each of his three seasons as a Wave.  Only four Waves all-time have achieved the feat, including Sahith Theegala, Andrew Putnam and Michael Putnam.   He tied for fifth place at the 2022 NCAA Championships, marking the best finish by a Wave since 2005.  He has a career scoring average of 71.10, which ranks fourth all-time at Pepperdine. He has had 13 top-10 finishes and ranks eighth all-time at Pepperdine with 48 below-par rounds.  Mouw is currently ranked 48th in the country by Golfweek/Sagarin. 

Mow and Hitchner's former teammate, Sahith Theegala, won the Ben Hogan Award in 2020.