Men's Golf Hosts Southwestern Invitational
2/24/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
MALIBU, California — After back-to-back outstanding performances to start the spring season, including Sahith Theegala and Clay Feagler both earning medalist honors, the Pepperdine men's golf team looks to successfully defend its title at its own Southwestern Invitational starting Monday.
EVENT INFO — The Southwestern Invitational will be held at the par-72, 6,992-yard North Ranch Country Club (Lakes & Oaks courses) in Westlake Village, California. There will be two rounds on Monday, followed by the third and final round on Tuesday (February 26-27). Monday's 36 holes will have a shotgun start beginning at 7:30 a.m. Live scoring will be available on Golfstat.
FIELD — In addition to Pepperdine, the 15-team field also includes Augusta, Denver, Long Beach State, Loyola Marymount, Michigan, New Mexico, Oregon State, San Diego State, San Jose State, SMU, Tennessee, UC Davis, UCLA and Washington State.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The Waves' lineup will feature sophomore Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS), junior Sahith Theegala (Chino Hills, Calif./Diamond Bar HS), sophomore Joshua McCarthy (Danville, Calif./De La Salle HS), freshman Austin Murphy (Morgan Hill, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) and junior Roy Cootes (Rolling Hills, Calif./Palos Verdes HS). Senior Anthony Cecere (Palos Verdes Estates, Calif./St. Margaret's Episcopal School) and freshman RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School) will play as individuals.
RANKINGS — Pepperdine is ranked #23 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #41 by Golfstat ... Individually, Sahith Theegala is #8 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #29 by Golfstat ... Clay Feagler is #81 by Golfweek/Sagarin.
EVENT HISTORY — The Southwestern Intercollegiate was started by USC in 1978. The schools co-hosted the event in 2013 and 2014. After a year without a tournament, Pepperdine then took over hosting duties in 2016 and merged it with its own home tournament, which had been played at a few different sites. The Waves won in 2006 and 2017. Sahith Theegala was the medalist last year, while Mike Walton (1995) and Jason Gore (1997) have also won titles.
THEEGALA — Junior Sahith Theegala is more than halfway toward one of the best careers in program history. The 2017 All-American ranks #1 all-time in scoring average (70.68) at Pepperdine through two-plus seasons.
Theegala already owns two of the top five single-season scoring averages in program history: 70.95 as a sophomore (#2) and 71.06 as a freshman (#5). He's on pace for another great year with a 69.50 scoring average this season (which would be #1). He has 53 career below-par rounds, already #3 in Pepperdine history, in 95 total rounds (he's had 15 in 20 rounds this season). He's finished in the top 20 in 24 of 33 career tournaments, including T-19th at the 2017 NCAA Championships. He has two career victories (the 2017 Southwestern Invitational and the 2018 Waves Challenge).
Theegala earned All-American third team status from the GCAA and honorable mention from Golfweek in 2017, and he was a semifinalist for the Jack Nicklaus Award. He was the 2017 WCC co-Player of the Year, the 2016 WCC Freshman of the Year and is a two-time All-WCC first teamer. He ranked #16 by Golfweek in the final 2017 individual ratings.
In 2017-18, Theegala is on the Ben Hogan Award, Arnold Palmer Cup and Fred Haskins Award watch lists. He earned the WCC's first Player of the Month award of the season in September, which was the third such honor of his career. He won the spring-season-opening Waves Challenge by a Pepperdine-record 16 strokes.
COOTES — Roy Cootes also ranks highly on some of Pepperdine's career leaderboards. The returning All-Region and All-WCC first teamer is fourth in career scoring average (72.61) and seventh in below-par rounds (38).
FEAGLER — Clay Feagler picked up his first college victory at the Prestige at PGA West, as his 7-under 135 over two rounds won by one stroke.
WAVES CHALLENGE — Pepperdine won its own Waves Challenge, played at Saticoy Country Club from January 29-30, by a program-record 37 shots. Sahith Theegala and Joshua McCarthy finished 1-2, although Theegala's 11-under 205 gave him a Pepperdine-record 16-shot victory.
RECENT HIGHLIGHTS — Sahith Theegala qualified for the 2017 U.S. Open (his second professional event of 2017 after he tied for 49th place at the PGA Tour's Genesis Open in February) ... Theegala, Roy Cootes, Clay Feagler and Joshua McCarthy all qualified for the 2017 U.S. Amateur, with Theegala reaching the Round of 32 (he was a quarterfinalist in 2016) ... Theegala won the 2017 Sahalee Players Championship ... During the winter break, three Waves placed in the top 20 at the Patriot All-America (McCarthy T-7th, Feagler T-11th, Cootes T-19th).
ROSTER — The nine-man roster breakdown is one senior, three juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen (five returning letterwinners and four newcomers). Four of the five players are back that helped the Waves finish second at the 2017 WCC Championships, third at the NCAA Stanford Regional and 13th at the NCAA Championships. All four — Sahith Theegala, Roy Cootes, Clay Feagler and Joshua McCarthy — made the 2017 All-WCC first team and all of them were also preseason All-WCC picks for 2018. They led the Waves to their first appearance at the NCAA Championships since 2011 and the program's best result since 2004.
BEARD — Former Pepperdine All-American Michael Beard, a two-time WCC Coach of the Year, is in his sixth season as the Waves' head coach. He returned to Pepperdine in December 2012 after spending the previous season-and-a-half as an assistant at Arizona State. He earned WCC Coach of the Year honors in 2016 and 2017. The Waves won the 2015 WCC title and advanced to the NCAA Championships in 2017. 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 has still played in more rounds (162) than anyone else in Pepperdine's history. 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 is on Twitter (@PeppGolf), Facebook (/PeppGolf) and Instagram (peppgolf). You can also follow @CoachMBeard and @blainewoodruff 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 nine appearances at the NCAA Championships since 1993 and have achieved NCAA Regional berths in 22 of the last 26 years. In the West Coast Conference, they've won a league-best 18 championships since 1987 and have finished either first or second in 24 of the last 31 years. The Waves have been successful sending players to the pros and had a program-best four alums on the PGA Tour in 2015.
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.
