2012 Masters Champion Bubba Watson has been selected as the Hickok Belt Award winner for the month of April 2012. Voting was conducted by a select national panel of members of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA). Watson was selected based on his thrilling victory in the 2012 Masters in which he defeated Louis Oosthuizen on the second hole of sudden-death playoff. Watson, currently ranked fourth in the world, shot a final-round 68 for a 10-under-par 278 total on his way to winning his first major championship and the tournament’s coveted Green Jacket.
Other finalists for the month of April in order of how the NSSA voters ranked them included: Matt Kemp (baseball), Kevin Durant (basketball), Claude Giroux (hockey), Josh Hamilton (baseball), Stephen Strasburg (baseball), Jonathan Quick (hockey), Greg Biffle (auto racing), Lee Westwood (golf) and Al Miyazato (golf).
Bubba Watson’s selection as the Hickok Belt Award winner for April not only recognizes him as “the best of the best” in professional sports for the month, it also marks another milestone in the return of the award given to the top professional athlete across all sports. As a monthly recipient Watson becomes the fourth of twelve finalists for the overall annual award, joining previous monthly award winners including Eli Manning, Jeremy Lin and Lindsey Vonn. Winners as selected by the NSSA will be announced each month throughout 2012. The overall winner will then be announced in early 2013, as the Hickok Belt Award, the crown jewel of sports, will be presented for the first time in over 36 years.
