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Finalists Announced for The Ben Hogan Award presented by Chesapeake Energy

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Finalists Announced for The Ben Hogan Award presented by Chesapeake Energy
Fowler, Lovemark, and Thompson to attend Hogan Banquet at Colonial Country Club

NORMAN, Okla. ?  Chesapeake Energy, in association with Colonial Country Club, The Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA), has named Rickie Fowler of Oklahoma State, Southern California?s Jamie Lovemark and Michael Thompson of Alabama finalists for the 2008 The Ben Hogan Award.  The most prestigious award in men?s college golf, The Hogan is presented annually to the top men?s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or junior college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the last 12 months.

The Big 12 Player of the Year, Fowler has claimed medalist honors twice this season - the Olympia Fields Illini Invitational and the Big 12 Men?s Championship. He also has a pair of runner-up finishes, two fourth-place showings and has placed no lower than eighth in nine events during his freshman campaign. The Murrieta, California, native also won this summer?s Sunnehanna Amateur and Players Amateur and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Western Amateur. Additionally, Fowler also won three matches to help Team USA claim a 121/2-111/2 victory in the Walker Cup and has been named to the 2008 Palmer Cup presented by Monster team.

The defending NCAA individual champion and 2007 PING First-Team All-America selection and Jack Nicklaus Award winner as the collegiate player of the year, Lovemark has posted another outstanding season. The sophomore from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., has seven top 10 finishes, including four in the top five. His best showings were runner-up finishes at both the Isleworth-UCF Collegiate Invitational and the United States Collegiate Championship. Lovemark advanced to the round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur and made the cut at the 2007 AT&T National and 2008 Buick Invitational and finished second on the Nationwide Tour?s Showdown at Somerby. He was also a member of the winning U.S. teams at both the Walker Cup and Palmer Cup presented by Monster.

A PING Second-Team All-American last season, Thompson has turned in an even finer 2008 campaign. The senior has finished in the top 10 in all eight events he has played in this season. Thompson won the SEC Men?s Golf Championship and carded three runner-up finishes. The SEC Men?s Golfer of the Year also turned in an impressive amateur resume. He competed in this year?s Master?s Tournament after a runner-up showing at last summer?s U.S. Amateur. The Tucson, Ariz., native also won the Greystone Invitational and placed in the top five at the Players Amateur and 2007 NCAA Championships. Thompson has also been named to represent the United States in this summer?s Palmer Cup presented by Monster

The Hogan Award banquet will be held May 18 at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, with the award recipient named that evening. The 1964 U.S. Open winner and former CBS golf analyst Ken Venturi will be the keynote speaker.

Chesapeake (NYSE: CHK) is the largest independent producer of clean-burning natural gas in the United States and is the most active driller in Texas. The company was recently recognized as the ?Best Managed Energy Company? by Forbes and one of the ?Top 100 Places to Work? by Fortune.

2008 The Ben Hogan Award Finalists
(in alphabetical order)

Rickie Fowler, Oklahoma State
Jamie Lovemark, Southern California
Michael Thompson, Alabama