The following is a press release courtesy of Iowa State athletics communications.
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State All-American golfer Scott Fernandez has collected a slew of awards and honors throughout his record-setting sophomore campaign. He added yet another to his resume today.
A Second-Team All American by Golfweek and All-Big 12 First-Team selection, the Iowa State Athletics Department named Fernandez its Male Athlete of the Year for the 2012-13 athletics season.
It marks the second season in a row where a men’s golfer was honored as ISU’s top male athlete. Nate McCoy won the award last season.
A native of Granada, Spain, Fernandez’ season was unprecedented in program history. Fernandez competed in 10 tournaments, finishing in the top-10 in eight of them, including an individual victory at the Furman Intercollegiate. He also had seven top-five finishes.
Fernandez, who was ranked 18th nationally in the final Golfweek ratings, capped off the season by breaking the school’s single-season stroke average mark (71.27) and becoming just one of five Cyclones in school history to earn an individual berth at an NCAA Regional.
The Spaniard tallied seven sub-70 rounds on the year, including a 65 at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational, tying for the second-best 18-hole score in school history. His 54-hole score of 203 at that meet is the second-lowest tournament tally in school history.
Fernandez, who was the first Cyclone to make the Hogan Award watch list, missed two events during the season while competing for Spain at World Amateur where he tied for 13th. He recently represented Europe at the prestigious Palmer Cup, college golf’s equivalent to the Ryder Cup.