Waves Make Third-Round Cut at NCAA Championships

Sunday, May 26

Fayetteville, Ark.

All Day

Pepperdine University

NCAA Championships

Austin Murphy

Photo by: Todd Drexler/SESPORTSMEDIA.com

5/26/2019 7:14:00 PM | Men's Golf

Highlights Photo Gallery Round 3 Results

By: by Athletic Communications

FAYETTEVILLE, Arkansas – The Pepperdine men's golf team had another strong showing at the NCAA Championships on Sunday, as the Waves improved to 12th place to make the third-round cut.

Pepperdine has gone from 26th to 17th to 12th over the three days of competition. Only the top 15 teams have advanced to Monday's fourth and final round of stroke play, and the Waves managed to beat the cut by five shots after starting the day two shots back. Pepperdine has a three-day total of 896 (312-291-293) at the par-72 Blessings Golf Club.

Today's score of 5-over was the ninth-best of the day among the 30 teams. Throw out the first round and Pepperdine's combined second and third-round score of 584 ranks sixth-best in the competition.

Pepperdine's next task will be to get into the top eight after Monday in order to make the next cut and advance to match play. The top seven teams may be out of reach, but eighth-place Clemson is only four shots ahead of the Waves.

Sunday's round was highlighted by even-par 72s from freshman Joe Highsmith and sophomore Austin Murphy. Murphy entered the lineup as a substitute ahead of Sunday's third round.

Pepperdine, the 1997 NCAA champion, is making its 10th appearance at the NCAA Championships. The Waves are seeking their fourth-ever top-10 performance, and are looking to get into match play for the first time in program history.

PLAYER SCORES

Freshman Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) is tied for 23rd at 220 (76-72-72). His second straight even-par round included three birdies on 9, 12 and 15.
Sophomore RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School) is tied for 60th at 225 (79-70-76). He had two birdies on Sunday, which came on 3 and 5.
Junior Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) is tied for 77th at 227 (78-76-73). He improved by multiple strokes for the second straight day and posted three birdies, which came on 5, 15 and 18.
Junior Joshua McCarthy (Danville, Calif./De La Salle HS) is tied for 83rd at 228 (79-73-76). He had birdies on 5 and 10.
Sophomore Austin Murphy (Morgan Hill, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) came in as a sub and played his first competitive round since the first round of the West Coast Conference Championships on April 25. He responded with an even-par 72, which included five birdies. He had birdies on 6 and 9 but was 2-over after 11 holes, and then had birdies on 12, 13 and 16 with only one more bogey.

UP NEXT

Pepperdine will be paired with TCU and Ohio State for Monday's fourth round. They'll start on the 10th tee beginning at 11:55 a.m. CT (9:55 a.m. PT). The Golf Channel will have coverage beginning at 1 p.m. PT.

THE NUMBERS

Top 15 Advancing Teams: 1. Oklahoma State 290-276-286=852; T2. Texas 298-290-289=877; T2. Stanford 291-287299=877; 4. Oklahoma 305-287-288=880; 5. Wake Forest 296-297-288=881; 6. Vanderbilt 307-288-287=882; 7. Texas A&M 296-287-301=884; 8. Clemson 302-292-298=892; 9. SMU 308-293-292=893; 10. TCU 311-295-288=894; 11. Ohio State 297-296-302=895; 12. Pepperdine 312-291-293=896; 13. Auburn 292-294-312=898; 14. California 292-301-306=899; 15. USC 304-304-292=900.

15 Teams Cut: 16. Arizona State 302-296-303=901; 17. South Carolina 305-299-298=902; 18. Georgia Tech 307-293-303=903; 19. North Carolina 304-300-300=904; T20. Liberty 305-303-298=906; T20. UNLV 310-292-304=906; T22. North Florida 309-297-301=907; T22. LSU 308-302-297=907; 24. Georgia 300-300-311=911; 25. Duke 313-305-294=912; 26. Georgia Southern 308-299-306=913; T27. Baylor 314-295-306=915; T27. Illinois 311-301-303=915; 29. Louisville 313-302-317=932; 30. BYU 322-307-309=938.

Top Individuals: 1. Matthew Wolff (Oklahoma State) 73-66-70=209; 2. Austin Eckroat (Oklahoma State) 69-69-73=211; 3 Steven Fisk (Georgia Southern) 76-68-68=212; 4. Chun An Yu (Arizona State) 69-74-70=213; T5. three players tied at 214.

VIDEO | After coming in as a sub and shooting an even-par 72 to help the Waves into the #NCAAGolf top 15, we talked to @austin_murphy17 post-round: pic.twitter.com/bQwuzvWbDa
— Pepperdine Men's Golf (@PeppGolf) May 27, 2019

VIDEO | Check out Sunday's #NCAAGolf Round 3 highlights right here:#WavesUp pic.twitter.com/DEwN7mNeVw
— Pepperdine Men's Golf (@PeppGolf) May 27, 2019