Men's Golf Hosts Southwestern Jones Invitational Next Week
2/26/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine men's golf team is on a terrific run of success and will look to keep it going at its own tournament, next week's Southwestern Jones Invitational.
The Waves have recorded five straight top-five finishes (which hasn't happened since 2002) and have had five straight tournaments at par or better (a program first, and the Waves haven't done this five times in a season since 2003).
The last time out, the Waves started the spring with a fourth-place finish at The Prestige at PGA West and defeated three top-10 teams in the process.
EVENT INFO — The tournament will be held at the par-72, 6,992-yard North Ranch Country Club, located in Westlake Village, Calif. The Lakes and Oaks courses will be utilized. Teams will play 36 holes on Monday (Feb. 29), beginning with a shotgun start at 8 a.m., followed by the final 18 holes on Tuesday (March 1) with tee times beginning at 7:30 a.m. Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com.
FIELD — In addition to Pepperdine, the 15-team field includes Augusta, Boise State, BYU, Fresno State, Iowa, Lipscomb, Mississippi State, Northwestern, Oregon, Sam Houston State, San Diego, San Diego State, USC and Winthrop. Six teams are ranked in Golfstat's top 50, led by USC at #6.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — Pepperdine's lineup will consist of senior Frederick Wedel (The Woodlands, Texas/The Woodlands HS), freshman Sahith Theegala (Chino Hills, Calif./Diamond Bar HS), freshman Roy Cootes (Rolling Hills, Calif./Palos Verdes HS), junior Robbie Geibel (Pembroke Pines, Fla./American Heritage HS/Louisville) and freshman Lorenzo Magagnin (Treviso, Italy). Sophomore Anthony Cecere (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./St. Margaret's Episcopal School) and junior Cody McManus (Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista HS) will play as individuals.
RANKINGS — Pepperdine is ranked 35th by Golfweek/Sagarin and 42nd by Golfstat ... Frederick Wedel is ranked 61st by Golfstat and 74th by Golfweek/Sagarin.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY — The Southwestern Jones Invitational combines two previously existing tournaments, the Southwestern Intercollegiate (started by USC in 1978) and the Jones Invitational (hosted by Pepperdine the last two years).
2015-16 SEASON — The Pepperdine men's golf program — the defending West Coast Conference champions — features a veteran squad this season (including four of the five that won the WCC crown) as well as a group of talented newcomers. Former Pepperdine All-American Michael Beard is in his fourth season as the Waves' head coach. The roster breakdown is two seniors, three juniors, one sophomore and three freshmen. The Waves have five returning letterwinners, one transfer and three true freshmen.
WCC — Both Frederick Wedel and Cody McManus made the preseason All-WCC team and the Waves were picked to finish second in the coaches' poll. Wedel was named the WCC's Golfer of the Month for October 2015.
RETURNERS — Frederick Wedel and Cody McManus have both earned multiple all-conference honors ... Wedel made the first team in 2015 and was honorable mention while McManus, the 2015 WCC champion, was first team in 2015 and honorable mention in 2013 ... Wedel played in his second straight U.S. Amateur Championship this past summer (he made the semifinals of the 2014 event) ... The other two in the lineup for last season's WCC title were Robin Kang and Anthony Cecere ... Senior David Pelekoudas gives the Waves five players who have competed in at least 10 tournaments in their Pepperdine careers.
MORE ON WEDEL — Frederick Wedel is currently fifth all-time at Pepperdine with a career scoring average of 72.92. His 2015-16 scoring average of 70.53 would be a school record if he keeps it up. Also on the career charts, Wedel ranks fifth in career below-par rounds (36) and tied for 10th in top 10 finishes (12).
As a junior, Wedel set the Pepperdine 54-hole record with a 20-under 196 (64-63-69) in winning the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational, and his 9-under 63 in the second round tied the school's 18-hole record. He holds the two-best 54-hole scores in school history after finishing with a 16-under 197 at the 2015 Alister MacKenzie Invitational.
NEWCOMERS — Junior Robbie Geibel, a transfer from Louisville, was the 2014 American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year ... Freshman Sahith Theegala won the Junior World Golf Championships three times (at the ages of 6, 8 and 10) ... Freshman Lorenzo Magagnin has been a member of the Italian National Team since 2012 ... Freshman Roy Cootes was a three-time Daily Breeze Player of the Year.
RECORD-SETTING FALL — Pepperdine set school records for 54 holes (33-under) and 36 holes (23-under) and had the second-best single-round score (17-under) while earning a tie for second place at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 12-13) ... A 14-under in the second round of the Bill Cullum Invitational (Oct. 19) was the third-best single-round in school history, while the total of 17-under is tied as the 10th-best 54 hole score ... The Waves had another round of 17-under at the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational and the total of 20-under was the eighth-best 54-hole score in school history,
SOUTHWESTERN JONES INVITATIONAL — The last two seasons, the Waves brought back a home tournament and called it the Jones Invitational. It will now merge with the long-time Southwestern Intercollegiate, held at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif., and will be titled the Southwestern Jones Invitational. Fifteen teams will converge on the course on February 29 and March 1.
BEARD — Michael Beard returned to Pepperdine in December 2012 after spending the previous season-and-a-half as an assistant at Arizona State. Beard competed for the Waves between 1999-2002 and was a GCAA All-American honorable mention selection in both 2000 and 2002. He was the medalist at the 2000 NCAA West Regional and the 2002 WCC Championships and was a four-time All-WCC first teamer. He still ranks first in total rounds played (162) and fourth in career scoring average (72.72) at Pepperdine. After playing professionally for several years, he served as an assistant coach at Pepperdine for one season and helped the Waves to make the 2011 NCAA Championships.
FOLLOW ONLINE — The squad has sites on both Twitter (@PeppGolf) and Facebook (/PeppGolf). You can also follow the coaches at @CoachMBeard and @Akirakossian on Twitter.
PEPPERDINE GOLF HISTORY — Thanks to its victory at the 1997 NCAA Championships, Pepperdine will always be known on a national level for its outstanding men's golf program. The Waves have made eight appearances at the NCAA Championships since 1993 and have achieved NCAA Regional berths in 20 of the last 24 years. In the West Coast Conference, they've won a league-best 18 championships since 1987 and have finished either first or second in 22 of the last 29 years. The Waves have been successful sending player to the pros and had a program-best four alums on the PGA Tour in 2015, while Jason Gore and Michael Putnam remain on the top tour in 2016.
ABOUT PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY — Pepperdine boasts a one-of-a-kind athletic department with unprecedented success for a school of its size. The Waves have won NCAA Division I championships in five different men's sports — one of just 17 schools to have accomplished this feat — and nine overall. Of this elite group, Pepperdine has the smallest undergraduate enrollment, is the only school without football and is the only university that has not been affiliated with a "major" conference. The Waves have won a total of 25 team or individual national championships in their history. Pepperdine has also earned the Division I-AAA All-Sports Trophy, an award based on postseason success that's given to the top non-football school, three times (most recently in 2011-12). Located in scenic Malibu, Calif., the university overlooks the Pacific Ocean and its campus and athletic facilities are regularly voted among the nation's most beautiful. Pepperdine, which is affiliated with the Church of Christ, ranks #52 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
