Mika Becktor (left) and Scott Melton made up half of the All-America Scholar NAIA team by the GCAA.
NORMAN, Okla. - Savannah College of Art and Design men's golfers Mika Becktor and Scott Melton have been named to the Cleveland Golf/Srixon NAIA All-America Scholar team by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
A total of 119 players in NCAA Division I, 55 in NCAA Division II, 60 in NCAA Division III and just four in NAIA earned the honor. To be eligible for Cleveland Golf/Srixon All-America Scholar status an individual must be a junior or senior academically, compete in at least two full years at the collegiate level, participate in 70 percent of his team's competitive rounds or compete in the NCAA or NAIA Championships, have a stroke average under 76.0 in Division I or 78.0 in Division II and NAIA, and maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.2 in Division I and II and 3.5 in NAIA. A recipient must also be of high moral character and be in good standing at his college or university.
SCAD was one the only institution to have multiple golfers on the NAIA team and also led all schools with two.
Becktor, a senior from Dosjebro, Sweden, had a 74.7 stroke average in 24 rounds in 2009-10. He had five top-20 finishes this season for the Bees, including three in the top 10. His best result was his third-place finish in both the Start-2-Finish Classic and the Marine Federal Credit Union Intercollegiate events. Becktor, who has been named to the all-conference team three times in his career, was honored twice as a Scholar-Athlete by the NAIA. Becktor graduated from SCAD with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in industrial design and had a 3.76 cumulative grade point average.
Melton, a senior from Ringgold, Ga., had a 75.6 stroke average in 24 rounds of play this season for the Bees. Melton, who was also named a Scholar-Athlete by the NAIA for the second consecutive year, had three top-20 efforts during the season, including an eighth-place finish at the Wilmington Island Club Intercollegiate. Melton graduated from SCAD with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in industrial design and had a 3.58 cumulative grade point average.
The Bees, who were ranked as high as No. 2 in the NAIA during the season, earned an at-large berth to the NAIA National Championship this season for the fifth time in the past six years. The Bees finished in a tie for ninth place at the national tournament this year at the TPC at Deere Run in Silvis, Ill. It was the best-ever finish at the NAIA tournament in the program’s history.