Baylor golfers swept the Big 12 Conference Golfer of the Month awards for the first time in program history, the league office announced Wednesday. Matthew Perrine was named October Men’s Golfer of the Month, and Amy Lee was honored as October Women’s Golfer of the Month, giving both their career-first honors.
Perrine, a junior from Austin, Texas, is the sixth Baylor men’s golfer to earn the Big 12 monthly award and the first since Kyle Jones in February 2015. Lee, a junior from Orange County, Calif., is the ninth BU women’s golfer to pick up the honor and the first since Lauren Taylor in April 2013.
Perrine helped Baylor to a tournament title at the 11-team Royal Oaks Intercollegiate and a third-place finish at the 12-team Jerry Pate National Intercollegiate. He finished in fourth place individually at Jerry Pate, which was his best collegiate finish until he topped that by sharing the individual title with teammate Braden Bailey at Royal Oaks.
He shot 72 or better in all six rounds, including five rounds below 70, to post a 68.33 stroke average for the month. The Bears recorded a 19-2 record for the month to improve to 38-12 on the season and climb to a season-best No. 7 national ranking.
“Matthew has impressed me with his resilience,” men’s golf head coach Mike McGraw said. “He played two terrific events and has been a leader in every respect.”
Lee, who is in her first season at Baylor after transferring from USC, helped the BU women’s team to a tournament title at the 19-team Las Vegas Collegiate Showdown and a fourth-place finish at the 14-team Betsy Rawls Longhorn Invitational. She finished tied for fifth place in a 75-player field at the Longhorn Invitational and followed that up by winning her career-first individual title over a 105-player field in Las Vegas. Lee won medalist honors by making birdie on her final two holes in the final round, turning a one-stroke deficit into a one-stroke lead.
She wrapped up the fall season with four top-10 finishes in five tournaments played, including top-five finishes in each of her last three events. Lee posted a 69.80 strokes average for the month and helped the Bears climb to a season-best No. 21 national ranking. BU went 28-3 in the month of October and now sits at 58-14-1 on the season.
“I’m very proud of Amy and how she has adapted to her new team here at Baylor,” women’s golf head coach Jay Goble said. “She’s a great golfer, and I believe this is just the first of many great things to come for her.”
Both teams have concluded their fall seasons. Women’s golf returns to action on Feb. 14 at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic in Rio Grande, P.R, and the men’s team resumes on Feb. 17 at the All-American in Humble, Texas.
BAYLOR’S ALL-TIME BIG 12 MEN’S GOLFERS OF THE MONTH
Jeremy Alcorn, October 2004
Jeremy Alcorn, March 2005
Ryan Baca, December 2005
Ryan Baca, February 2006
Joakim Mikkelsen, February 2012
Joakim Mikkelsen, April 2012
Kyle Jones, March 2014
Kyle Jones, September 2014
Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen, October 2014
Kyle Jones, February 2015
Matthew Perrine, October 2016
BAYLOR’S ALL-TIME BIG 12 WOMEN’S GOLFERS OF THE MONTH
Melanie Hagewood, March 2003
Josefin Svenningsson, October 2003
Sian Reddick, November 2005
Allison Martin, March 2007
Hannah Burke, March 2009
Hayley Davis, September 2011
Jaclyn Jansen, October 2011
Lauren Taylor, November 2012
Lauren Taylor, April 2013
Amy Lee, October 2016
