CARTHAGE, N.C. -- The Peach Belt Conference announced the 2008-09 golf All-Conference team at a banquet at the Little River Golf Resort, home of the 2009 PBC Tournament. Clayton State’s Will Wilcox was named the PBC Player of the Year while UNC Pembroke’s Jordan Walor was named the Freshman of the Year. Lander’s Chipper Bagwell was recognized as the Coach of the Year. In all, eight PBC golfers were named All-Conference.

Wilcox was the unanimous choice for Player of the Year after winning four tournaments, including three in a row this spring at the Outback Intercollegiate, the Matlock Invitational and the Samford Invitational. The two-time All-American from Pell City, Ala., leads the PBC with a 70.9 stroke average and finished in the top five in six of the 10 events he played in. He shot a season-low round of 66 at the Outback and had a PBC-best 17 rounds at par or under this season. He becomes the first Clayton State golfer to be named the Player of the Year.

Jordan Walor played in all nine tournaments for UNC Pembroke in his freshman season, winning the State Farm Laker Collegiate. A native of Wake Forest, N.C., Walor led the team and is tied for 11th in the PBC with a 73.1 stroke average. He finished in the top five four times in his nine tournaments and shot a season-low 66 at the Lenoir-Rhyne/Catawba Invitational. Walor becomes the second UNCP golfer to be named the Freshman of the Year, joining Matt Drye who won the award in 2002.

Chipper Bagwell coached basketball at Lander for 19 years before founding the school’s golf team in 2006. Just four seasons later, the Bearcats are a national power, currently ranked 14th in the latest poll and have been as high as #4 this season. Under Bagwell’s guidance, the Bearcats have two tournament wins this year at the Queens Invitational and the AASU/Southbridge Pirate Invitational and have finished in the top five in seven of their nine events. The Coach of the Year award is his first as golf coach.

The 2008-09 All-Conference team is listed below as selected by the league’s head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players. The PBC golf tournament begins on Monday at the Little River resort with 36 holes and concludes with 18 holes on Tuesday.

2008-09 Peach Belt Conference
Golf All-Conference Team

Roberto Diaz, USC Aiken
Andrew Georgiou, Columbus State
Charlie Hoyle, Lander
Niclas Johansson, GCSU
J.P. Solis, USC Aiken
Will Wilcox, Clayton State
Chris Wolfe, Armstrong Atlantic State
Joe Young, GCSU

Player of the Year: Will Wilcox, Clayton State
Freshman of the Year: Jordan Walor, UNC Pembroke
Coach of the Year: Chipper Bagwell, Lander