Is named to 2017 All-Nicklaus team after title win
Mississippi Gulf Coast’s Colin Troxler added another line to an already sparkling resume, being named to the 2017 All-Nicklaus Team.
The NJCAA Division II individual national champion and Hahnville High School alumnus led the Bulldogs to a second-place finish at the national championship tournament played in Mesa, Ariz. It was the school’s best-ever finish.
The team is named for the golfing great Jack Nicklaus, a long-time supporter of collegiate and amateur golf. It includes players from NCAA Divisions I, II and III, as well as the NAIA and NJCAA. Nicklaus was a Big Ten and NCAA champion at Ohio State.
Troxler, a sophomore from Luling, won two tournaments as a sophomore and had 10 top-five finishes during his two years at Gulf Coast. He has signed to continue his collegiate career at the University of Louisiana.
He earned Ping All-American and NJCAA All-American honors and won the Arnold Palmer Trophy for his performance at the national championship. He was the only golfer to finish under par in the 137-person field. Troxler shot -2 overall and a total score of 282 over the four-day tournament.
Troxler had his first round over par, but built enough cushion after three rounds under par.
He said that in the midst of the third round, he had a good idea he was leading the pack — and that he was locked in.
“At that point, it wasn’t as much me aiming for the pin but just hitting the fairway,” he said. “With about 27 holes left, we’re just gonna cruise … the way the course was designed and the way I hit shots, my coach felt it set up great for me.”
He said a major element to the win came on the putting green, where he was using a new putter tailor-made for him that he’d begun using about two weeks ago.
“Everything just seemed to click,” he said. “We read perfect putts and everything seemed to fall. It was a bigger putter and helped the ball roll more consistently.”
He earned Golf Coaches Association of American All-American Second-Team honors as a freshman. He was also a second-team selection to the Ping All-American team and was on the All-Freshman team.
In his freshman season, he placed in the top 10 of six different events.
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