Men's golfer Thomas Matthews a finalist for Jack Nicklaus Award

Eastern Florida State College sophomore golfer Thomas Matthews is a finalist for the 2020 Jack Nicklaus NJCAA National Player of the Year Award.

Matthews finished his sophomore season with a stroke average of 72.05 and finished in the top five in all six events including a win and two runner-up finishes.

The Wrexham, Wales native was named to the NJCAA PING All-American First Team earlier this month and is one of six finalists for the National Player of the Year Award.

Recipients of the award will be announced during the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, scheduled July 13-19.

Matthews becomes the second player from Eastern Florida State College men's golf program to be a finalist for the award. Kerry Sweeney won the award in both 2015 and 2016.

Matthews, who was a semifinalist for the award as a freshman, joins Hutchinson College's Charlie Crockett, Mesa's Trey Fessler, Mississippi Gulf Coast's Jon Hopkins, Ranger's Jacob Skov Oleseon and South Mountain's Gabriel Salvanera as finalists for the award.

Nicklaus, a Big Ten and NCAA Champion at The Ohio State University, helped inspire and create the Jack Nicklaus Award in 1988 and it is now presented to the National Player of the year in NCAA Divisions I, II and III, as well as NAIA and NJCAA.