Alabama junior golfer Cory Whitsett was named the recipient of the Elite 89 award for the 2013 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship Monday evening. He is the first men’s golf student-athlete at the NCAA Division-I level to be a two-time recipient.

The Elite 89, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring the individual who has reached the pinnacle of competition at the national level in his or her sport while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 89 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s championships.

Whitsett, a junior from Houston, Texas, was presented the award at a welcome banquet for the 2013 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship, hosted by Georgia Tech. He has a 4.0 grade-point average in management at the University of Alabama. Whitsett barely edged his teammate, junior Bobby Wyatt, for the award, who also boasts a 4.0 GPA.

Whitsett is competing in his third NCAA Championship and is ranked fourth in the most recent Golfweek/Sagarin Performance Index. He leads the team with a 71.26 scoring average and has two tournament victories on the season and five for his career.

Eligible student-athletes are sophomores or above who have participated in their sport for at least two years with their school. They must be traveling with the team, an active member and a designated member of the squad size at the championship. All ties are broken by the number of credits completed.