ALPHARETTA, Georgia – The #5 Pepperdine men's golf team recorded the best round of the day to close out the fall season with a second-place finish against an impressive field at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational on Sunday.
The Waves posted a three-day total of an even-par 864 (276-307-281) at the par-72 Golf Club of Georgia. They had the two best rounds of the entire tournament (10-under in the first round and 7-under today) but a difficult second round played in the rain was costly.
The Waves, ranked #5 in the latest Golfweek Bushnell coaches poll, finished two shots behind #10 Duke. Pepperdine earned head-to-head wins against the top two teams in the country, #1 Georgia Tech and #2 Wake Forest, plus #12 North Carolina, #14 Clemson, #16 Texas A&M and #25 Tennessee.
Four Waves finished in the top 20.
PLAYER SCORES
- Freshman William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) tied for 11th place with an even-par 216 (69-76-71). He had four birdies during his 1-under round, three on the front nine and one on the 18th hole.
- Senior Sahith Theegala (Chino Hills, Calif./Diamond Bar HS) tied for 19th at 218 (71-72-75). He had three birdies today, all on the front nine. His 32nd career top-20 finish gave him sole possession of third place on the Waves' all-time list.
- Sophomore Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) tied for 19th at 218 (68-79-71). His 1-under round included three birdies and an eagle.
- Senior Joshua McCarthy (Danville, Calif./De La Salle HS) tied for 19th at 218 (68-81-69). His 3-under included four birdies today, three coming on the front nine. His 55th career below-par round moved him into a tie with head coach Michael Beard for third on the Waves' all-time list.
- Junior RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) tied for 46th at 223 (73-80-70). His 2-under today had a total of six birdies, three on the front nine and three on the back (four of them coming in a six-hole stretch).
UP NEXT
The Waves' spring season begins with their own Southwestern Invitational, set for January 27-28 at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village.
THE NUMBERS
Team Scores: 1. Duke 862;
2. Pepperdine 864; 3. Texas A&M 865; 4. Wake Forest 868; 5. UCLA 872; 6. Stanford 873; T7. North Carolina 874; T7. Clemson 874; T7. Tennessee 874; 10. Georgia Tech 875; 11. USC 880; 12. East Tennessee State 884; T13. Virginia 885; T13. TCU 885.
Top Individuals: T1. Eddy Lai (UCLA) 209; T1. William Paysse (Texas A&M) 209; T3. Kaito Onishi (USC) 211; T3. Mark Power (Wake Forest) 211; 5. Tyler Strafaci (Georgia Tech) 212.
