Men's Golf Competes at MacKenzie Next Week

MALIBU, California – The Pepperdine men's golf team continues its fall season at California's Alister MacKenzie Invitational next week, looking to build upon a third-place finish at its season opener.

EVENT INFO – The Alister MacKenzie Invitational will be held at the par-71, 6,734-yard Meadow Club in Fairfax, California. There will be two rounds on Monday and the third and final round is Tuesday (October 8-9). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.

FIELD – In addition to Pepperdine, the 15-team field includes host California, Arizona State, Augusta, Fresno State, Hawai'i, Long Beach State, Oregon State, San Diego, San Diego State, San Francisco, San Jose State, Santa Clara, Saint Mary's and UC Davis.

PEPPERDINE LINEUP – The Waves' lineup consists of junior Joshua McCarthy (Danville, Calif./De La Salle HS), freshman Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep), junior Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS), sophomore RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) and senior Roy Cootes (Rolling Hills, Calif./Palos Verdes HS). Sophomore Austin Murphy (Morgan Hill, Calif./Bellarmine College Prep) will play as an individual.

EVENT HISTORY – This will be the sixth straight year that the Waves have competed at the Alister MacKenzie. The Waves' best finish was a tie for second in 2015. Pepperdine's best-ever 54-hole score (33-under) came that year. The Waves have come in fifth each of the last two years. The Waves' best individual finish was a tie for second by Frederick Wedel in 2015. Roy Cootes tied for sixth in 2016 and tied for eighth in 2015.

LAST TIME – The Waves finished third at New Mexico's William H. Tucker Intercollegiate with a 13-under 851, just three strokes out of first place. Joshua McCarthy was third, Joe Highsmith tied for sixth and Clay Feagler was eighth.

ROSTER – The Waves' roster consists of three seniors, two juniors, two sophomores and two freshmen. All five players that were part of last year's record-setting lineup at the WCC Championships are back, but Sahith Theegala -- a two-time All-American, a three-time All-WCC first team honoree and a member of the 2018 USA's Arnold Palmer Cup squad – is currently out with a wrist injury and is likely to redshirt 2018-19. Clay Feagler and Joshua McCarthy have each been All-WCC twice. Feagler was medalist at the 2018 WCC Championships and McCarthy was an individual qualifier for the 2018 NCAA Championships. Roy Cootes is also a previous All-WCC honoree.

2018-19 HONORS – Pepperdine was #18 in Golfweek's preseason rankings ... The Waves were a unanimous choice by the WCC's coaches to repeat as conference champions in their preseason poll ... Clay Feagler, Joshua McCarthy and Sahith Theegala were named to the preseason All-WCC team ... Joe Highsmith was listed at #9 among Golfweek's top freshmen in the nation.

PEPPERDINE GOLF – 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 nine appearances at the NCAA Championships since 1993 and have achieved NCAA Regional berths in 23 of the last 27 years. In the West Coast Conference, they've won a league-best 19 championships since 1987 and have finished either first or second in 25 of the last 32 years. Seventh-year head coach Michael Beard, who has earned a conference-record three consecutive WCC Coach of the Year awards, leads the Waves.

ONLINE — The squad is on Twitter (@PeppGolf), Facebook (/PeppGolf) and Instagram (peppgolf). You can also follow @CoachMBeard and @blainewoodruff on Twitter.

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 18 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, California, 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 #46 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.

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Players Mentioned

Roy Cootes

Clay Feagler

Joe Highsmith

RJ Manke

Joshua McCarthy

Austin Murphy

Sahith Theegala

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