NEW ORLEANS, L.A.– Georgia Southern senior Scott Wolfes (St. Simons, Ga.) was named the Sun Belt Golfer of the Year and earned first-team all-league honors while classmate Kim Koivu (Helsinki, Finland) was named first-team all-league as the conference released its men’s golf postseason awards May 1st, 2015.
In addition, Georgia Southern men’s golf coach Carter Collins was named the league’s Coach of the Year.
A two-time Sun Belt Golfer of the Month selection during the season, Wolfes placed in the top-5 five times this season with seven finishes in the top-10. He took second to Koivu at the Sun Belt Championships last week, posting 68-69-72=209 (-4) and led the league in scoring average with a mark of 70.86. Wolfes has 15 top-5 finishes in his 45 starts as a collegiate golfer at Georgia Southern. He was named the Southern Conference Golfer of the Year in 2013 and earned all-conference kudos in all four seasons as an Eagle.
Koivu earned his first tournament victory at Georgia Southern by carding 69-67-71=207 (-6) in the Sun Belt Championships. He logged two top-5 and three top-15 finishes this season, and his scoring average of 72.85 ranked 11th in the league. Koivu is just the eighth Eagle to win a conference individual title and the first since Drew Lethem, who won the SoCon in 2009. Koivu’s score tied for the fourth-lowest round in Sun Belt championship history and was the lowest since 2008.
Collins picked up his first Coach of the Year accolade and has been a member of the Eagle coaching staff for three conference championships. Georgia Southern will be making its sixth NCAA Regional appearance during Collins’ eight-year stint on the staff.
Georgia Southern will learn the field and destination of its next tournament Monday, May 4. The 2015 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championships selections will be announced live on the Golf Channel from 10-11 a.m. during Morning Drive, the network’s daily morning news and lifestyle show.
Morning Drive will also be streamed live on Golf Channel’s Web site via Golf Live Extra at golfchannel.com. It will be the Eagles’ 23rd appearance in the NCAA Championships.