April 20, 2018 NORMAN, Okla. - Matthew Perrine became the first major award winner in Baylor men's golf history when he was announced as the 2018 Byron Nelson Award winner on Friday during Golf Channel's Morning Drive.
The Byron Nelson Award is presented by Srixon/Cleveland Golf, in cooperation with the Four Seasons Resort and Club Las Colinas and the Salesmanship Club of Dallas.
Candidates for the Byron Nelson Award must be graduating seniors, and the selection committee considered equally a nominee's entire collegiate academic and golf career as well as his character and integrity while in college. Particular consideration was given to good citizenship, as portrayed by Mr. Byron Nelson over the course of his life and golf career.
Perrine was one of five finalists for the award, including Missouri's Hayden Buckley, Oklahoma's Grant Hirschman, Michigan's Kyle Mueller and Northwestern's Dylan Wu. He was the second Baylor player to be named a Byron Nelson Award finalist, joining Joakim Mikkelsen in 2012.
An Austin, Texas, native, Perrine has played in all 10 team events this season, posting a 71.17 stroke average and 16 of 30 rounds at par or better. He has a team-high three top-five finishes, along with four top-10s and seven top-25 finishes. His 71.17 stroke average is currently tied for the fourth-best single-season mark in school history.
Perrine tied for fifth place in a 97-player field at the season-opening Gopher Invitational, took fourth place in a 60-player field at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate, tied for sixth in a 73-player field at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate and tied for third place out of 90 players at the Valspar Collegiate.
A three-year letterwinner who joined the Bears after playing his 2014-15 freshman season at Auburn, Perrine currently ranks fourth in program history with a 71.89 career stroke average across 99 rounds at Baylor. He's been part of the Baylor lineup in 33 consecutive tournaments, playing 48 of 99 rounds at par or better. He has four career top-three finishes, seven top-five finishes, which are tied for eighth-most in school history, and 15 top-10 finishes, which ranks eighth all-time at Baylor.
He also set the school record with nine consecutive top-10 finishes during his 2016-17 junior season, but his most memorable shot came in the 2017 NCAA Championship match play quarterfinals against Oklahoma. With the teams tied 2-2, Perrine sank an all-or-nothing chip-in on No. 18 to force a playoff against Brad Dalke. Perrine was also named Big 12 Golfer of the Month for October 2016, and his 71.35 stroke average was the fourth-best single-season mark in school history.
As team captain, Perrine has led Baylor to a No. 10 national ranking and seven top-five finishes in 10 tournaments during the 2017-18 season. The Bears won the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate, took second place at the Gopher Invitational and All-American Intercollegiate, and finished third at the Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate and the Arizona Intercollegiate. BU has a 109-33-1 head-to-head record for the season.
Perrine has also been successful in the classroom. He's a three-time Baylor Dean's List selection and was named to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll in all four semesters entering his senior season. He was named a 2017 GCAA All-America Scholar and selected to the 2017 Academic All-Big 12 First Team.
Baylor has completed its regular season and next competes at the 2018 Big 12 Championship, which runs Monday through Wednesday at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla. Follow @BaylorMGolf on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for updates throughout the season.
2017-18 Season Honors (GolfStat Division I Player Ranking as of April 18)
Braden Bailey (No. 55)
Ben Hogan Award Watch List
Academic All-Big 12, first team
Austin Cotton
Academic All-Big 12, first team
Cooper Dossey (No. 101)
Academic All-Big 12, first team
Colin Kober
Academic All-Big 12, first team
Garrett May (No. 12)
Fred Haskins Award Watch List
Academic All-Big 12, first team
Travis McInroe
Academic All-Big 12, first team
Matthew Perrine (No. 47)
Byron Nelson Award Winner
Academic All-Big 12, first team
