ALPHARETTA, Georgia – Despite facing a loaded field, the Pepperdine men's golf team has taken a seven-shot lead after Friday's first round of the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational.
The Waves fired a 12-under 276 at the par-72 Golf Club of Georgia, with four of five players finishing under-par today. Stanford is in second place at 283.
Pepperdine is ranked #5 in the newest Golfweek Bushnell coaches poll that was released today. Also playing in this tournament are #1 Georgia Tech, #2 Wake Forest, #10 Duke, #12 North Carolina, #14 Clemson, #16 Texas A&M and #25 Tennessee.
PLAYER SCORES
- Senior Joshua McCarthy (Danville, Calif./De La Salle HS) is tied for fourth place after a 4-under 68. He had six birdies on the day, three on the front nine and three on the back nine.
- Sophomore Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) is also tied for fourth place with a 4-under 68. He had six birdies, including a run of three straight on holes 6, 7 and 8.
- Freshman William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) is tied for seventh place with a 3-under 69. Four of his six birdies came on the back nine.
- Senior Sahith Theegala (Chino Hills, Calif./Diamond Bar HS) is tied for 16th after a 1-under 71. He posted three birdies. His 65th career below-par round puts him three shy of the Pepperdine record.
- Junior RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) is tied for 33rd after a 1-over 73. He had three birdies.
UP NEXT
For Saturday's second round, the Waves will tee off at 6:55 a.m. PT and they'll be paired with Georgia Tech and UCLA. There is rain in the forecast, however.
THE NUMBERS
Team Scores: 1. Pepperdine 276; 2. Stanford 283; 3. Duke 284; T4. UCLA 285; T4. North Carolina 285; 6. Texas A&M 286; T7. Wake Forest 289; T7. USC 289; 9. Georgia Tech 290; 10. East Tennessee State 291; 11. TCU 292; T12. Tennessee 294; T12. Clemson 294; 14. Virginia 295.
Top Individuals: T1. David Snyder (Stanford) 67; T1. Yuxin Lin (USC) 67; T1. William Paysse (Texas A&M) 67;
T4. Joshua McCarthy (Pepperdine) 68;
T4. Joe Highsmith (Pepperdine) 68; T4. Mark Power (Wake Forest) 68.
