From STAFF REPORTS

HILTON HEAD, S.C. – Georgia Southwestern State University golfer, Nick Ward, was named the 2017 Peach Belt Conference (PBC) Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year on June 6 evening at the league’s annual awards dinner. The Scholar-Athlete award is the highest individual honor given by the PBC to a student-athlete during the year and is selected by the league’s Faculty Athletic Representatives.
A native of Eastbourne, England, Ward graduated in May from GSW with a degree in business management and carried a 3.891 cumulative GPA. He has been named an Academic All-American and won the 2016 PBC Elite 15 Award for men’s golf, which is presented in each of the league’s 15 championship sports to the student-athlete participating in the conference tournament with the highest cumulative GPA.
Ward was named to the PBC All-Academic team four times and is also a four-time PBC Presidential Honor Roll Gold Scholar. He received four academic scholarships including the Wheatley Leadership Scholarship for four years.
On the course, Ward played on Hurricane teams that won three tournaments over his collegiate career and reached the 2015 and 2016 NCAA regionals. He was named PBC All-Conference twice and an All-American in 2015. He was third on the Hurricanes in stroke average this season, serving as the team captain and finished in the Top 10 at the 2017 PBC Championships to take sole possession of the GSW record for most Top 10 finishes in a career (14).
Ward becomes the second Hurricane to ever be named the PBC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, joining Christopher Horton-Cook, who won in 2007.