CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Senior Dustin Garza cemented his place among the elite in collegiate golf on Friday as the Golf Coaches Association of America named him the first PING First-Team All-American in Shocker men's golf history.
The GCAA made its selections for one of the highest honors in NCAA golf, making the Mission, Texas native just one of 11 Division I golfers in the country on the 2010 first-team.
"This is an incredible honor," Garza said. "To be a first-team All-American is the goal of anyone who plays college golf and to become one of them is a huge honor."
Garza earned third-team from the GCAA accolades after a breakout junior season, winning five individual titles.
His senior season elevated him to record-setting status as he moved into the NCAA's Top-10 all-time collegiate victories by claiming individual medalist honors seven times this season. That pushed his career-win total to 12, passing Tiger Woods' 11 at Stanford.
"Dustin worked pretty hard in the last year and a half," Head Coach Grier Jones said. "He had to put up with me and I pushed him pretty hard. I hope at this young age he sees that this achievement came from his hard work and effort. It's so much easier when you learn that at a young age."
Garza finished the season ranked No. 12 by Golfweek and third by Golfstat in the Golfstat Cup rankings. In 42 rounds as a senior, Garza accumulated a 70.93 scoring average.
In April, Garza won the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference tournament for the second-straight season to lead the Shocks to their ninth victory in 12 years. He also notched MVC Golfer of the Year honors for the second year running, getting him the First-Team All-Conference nod. He became just the fourth Valley golfer in league history to earn all-conference honors four-straight years.
2010 Division I PING First-Team All-Americans
John Chin, UC Irvine
Nils Floren, Texas Tech
Dustin Garza, Wichita State
Russell Henley, Georgia
Scott Langley, Illinois
Andrea Pavan, Texas A&M
Jonathan Randolph, Mississippi
Nick Taylor, Washington
Peter Uihlein, Oklahoma State
Diego Velasquez, Oregon State
Eugene Wong, Oregon
Dustin Garza - Senior Year Scorecard
Fall 2009
UTA Waterchase Invitational: 1st (68-70-70=208)
VCU Shootout: T-20th (73-72-75=220)
Wolf Pack Classic: 1st (67-67-71=205)
UMKC Bill Ross Intercollegiate: 1st (72-68-71=211)
Aldila Scenic City Invitational: T-1st (69-68-73=210)
Spring 2010
Jones Cup: 20th (79-78-74=231)
UTSA Oak Hills Invitational: 2nd (72-70-70=212)
UNO Mardi Gras Invitational: T-11th (70-77-71=218)
Rio Pinar Invitational: T-27th (71-75-77=223)
Desert Shootout: 1st (68-65-69=202)
Diet Pepsi Shocker Classic: 1st (74-69-68=211)
Crooked Stick Invitational: 8th (76-72-70=218)
State Farm MVC Tournament: 1st (78-75-70=223)
NCAA South Central Regional: T-14th (66-70-79=215)
-Wichita State-
