Oliver Schniederjans

The 21-year-old from Powder Springs, Georgia has enjoyed an excellent season, amassing five wins in his third year in college golf. The Georgia Tech student also finished second in the NCAA Championship and NCAA Raleigh Regional.

Schniederjans reached the third round of last week’s U.S. Amateur Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club and was selected for the American Palmer Cup team which faced Europe at Walton Heath in June. Although Europe triumphed by 18 ½ to 11 ½, Schniederjans was his team’s highest points scorer winning three points from a possible four.

As well as a successful season on the college and amateur circuits, Schniederjans has performed well in several professional events. He received an exemption into the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen, where he finished tied for 41st, and played in the Air Capital Classic presented by Aetna on the Web.com Tour, where he finished tied fifth.

“I’m very excited about this accomplishment,” he said. “It is something I believed I could achieve. I have gotten better every year since I got to college and hope to continue that in future. I wouldn’t have been able to achieve this without all the support I have received and all the opportunities I have had to practice and to be able to play good tournaments.

“I know all about the players who have won the McCormack Medal and know my name will always be remembered alongside them. It is going to be really cool to be known as a great amateur before I go on to play professionally.”

The R&A and United States Golf Association (USGA) award is named after Mark H McCormack, who founded sports marketing company IMG and was a great supporter of amateur golf.

John Bodenhamer, USGA Senior Managing Director, Rules, Competitions & Amateur Status, said, “We extend our congratulations to Oliver for this tremendous honor. From the U.S. Amateur and NCAA Championships to multiple professional events, he has proven to be a remarkable competitor at many levels, and this award is greatly deserved.”

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, said, “Oliver deserves tremendous credit for the way he has performed this year. He has shown that he can maintain high standards of performance throughout the season and adapt his game to playing in events on links and heathland courses in the UK. It is a great achievement to lead the ranking and he is the latest in a line of very good players to win the medal.”

ABOUT THE WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKING (TM)

The World Amateur Golf Ranking (TM), which is supported by Rolex, was established in 2007 when the men’s ranking was launched. The Men’s ranking encompasses more than 2,700 counting events, ranking more than 6,100 players representing 101 countries worldwide. The women’s ranking was launched in 2011 and has a calendar of more than 1,400 counting events with over 3,000 ranked players representing 74 countries worldwide.

AMATEURGOLF.COM NOTE

As a point of reference, Schiederjans is currently ranked No. 11 in the world and No. 5 in the U.S. in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Player Rankings. These rankings do not award points for mid-season collegiate events; they do award points for NCAA Regionals and Championships, as well as worldwide amateur tournaments and amateur performances in professional events.