Former Faulkner State golfer Bubba Watson has been chosen as the United States Sports Academy’s Male Athlete of the Month for April.
Watson won the Master’s for the second time on April 13, when he carded a final-round 3-under 69 to finish at 8-under par – three shots ahead of the field.
The Female Athlete of the Month was Breanna Stewart. A freshman, Stewart led the Huskies to the NCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament championship and was the Most Outstanding Player for the women’s Final Four.
Watson finished ahead of Meb Keflezighi, the winner of the Boston Marathon on April 21; and Manny Pacquiao, the first boxer to win titles in eight different divisions after defeating Timothy Bradley on April 12 to earn the World Boxing Organization welterweight championship.
Stewart finished ahead of Maria Sharapova, who won her third consecutive title in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on April 27 in Stuggart, Germany; and Rita Jeptoo, the women’s winner of the Boston Marathon.
Stewart and Watson become eligible for USSA’s male and female 2014 Athlete of the Year Awards. Those already eligible include marathoner Michael Wardian, Olympic gold-medal short-track speedskater Viktor Ahn and tennis star Novak Djokovic for the male honor and marathoner Abebech Bekele, Olympic gold-medal short-track speedskater Park Seung-hi and tennis star Serena Williams for the female honor
For the 30th consecutive year, the U.S. Sports Academy will oversee the online voting that will take place in December for the Athlete of the Year. The award is presented in conjunction with NBC Sports.
The public can submit nominations for the Athlete of the Month Award on the USSA web site. During the first two weeks of each month, fans can vote online for the award winners. The online votes and an academy committee determine the winners.
USSA is the largest graduate school of sport education in the world and is the only free-standing, accredited university in the United States devoted entirely to sport programs.
This article was republished with permission from Mark Inabinett. The original article was published on AL.com and can be viewed by clicking here.