ST. LOUIS – Illinois State senior David Perkins, has added another accolade to his long list of post-season awards following the shortened 2020 season as he was named the Missouri Valley Conference Golfer of the Year on Tuesday.
Perkins joins Trent Wallace (2019) and Matt Miller (2007) as Redbirds who have claimed the top individual honor in men's golf.
In addition to this award, he was named an All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America and PING; and was named the MVC Men's Golf Scholar Athlete of the Year.
Perkins' stroke average of 69.39 for the 2020 season is the lowest in the MVC since 2003 by over a stroke and a half. He earned four MVC Golfer of the Week laurels in the shortened season, giving him 11 career Golfer of the Week honors, tied the second-most in MVC history – three away from the all-time MVC record – and the most among an Illinois State golfer.
The East Peoria, Illinois, native was named to the Ben Hogan Award Watch List, signifying the top amateur golfer in the country. He was the top MVC golfer heading into the season shutdown, and his average score (69.39) was nearly three strokes ahead of the second lowest in the MVC this season.
Perkins played in six tournaments and 18 rounds during the season and he had five top-10 finishes. Of his 18 rounds, 16 were at or under par. At the Golfweek Conference Challenge in September he was the individual medalist, finishing 10 shots under par for the tournament. In each of his completed tournaments during the year he had an aggregate score under par.
Perkins is joined on the all-conference team by Matthis Besard (Southern Illinois), Tim Lim (Drake), Nate Vance (Loyola), and MVC Newcomer of the Year Caleb VanArragon (Valparaiso).
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