Friday, September 20
Olympia Fields, Ill.
Pepperdine University
at
Fighting Illini Invitational
Derek Hitchner
Photo by: Jeff Golden
Men's Golf Travels to Illinois for Second Tournament
9/18/2019 8:51:00 AM | Men's Golf
MALIBU, California — The Pepperdine men's golf team heads to Illinois for this weekend's OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational and the Waves' second tournament of the fall season.
Coming off the program's 20th West Coast Conference title and an 11th-place showing at the NCAA Championships, the Waves have an unprecedented amount of talent and depth on this year's team, and were listed as high as #2 in preseason rankings.
EVENT INFO — The Fighting Illini Invitational will be held at the par-70, 7,205-yard Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois. Teams will play a single round each day between Friday and Sunday (Sept. 20-22). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.
FIELD — The 15-team field includes Pepperdine, host Illinois, Alabama, Baylor, California, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, North Carolina, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and UNLV.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The Waves' lineup consists of freshman William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS), sophomore Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep), senior Sahith Theegala (Chino Hills, Calif./Diamond Bar HS), sophomore Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) and junior RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School).
EVENT HISTORY — This is the 14th year of the Fighting Illini Invitational and it's the first time that the Waves have participated.
PRESEASON HYPE — The Waves have preseason rankings of #2 by Golfweek, #3 by Golf Channel and #10 in the Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll ... Sahith Theegala was named to Golfweek's preseason All-American first team, while William Mouw was on the third team. Mouw was also listed among Golfweek's top 10 freshmen in the country.
SUMMER SUCCESS — Five different Waves raised a trophy during summer 2019, including a sweep of the three main amateur events in California. William Mouw won the California Amateur Championship (becoming one of the youngest players ever to do so), Sahith Theegala captured the SCGA Amateur and Joshua McCarthy was victorious at the NCGA Amateur. Elsewhere, Joe Highsmith won the Sahalee Players Championship and RJ Manke won the Mexico Internacional Amateur. Six Waves played in the U.S. Amateur — Highsmith, Manke, Mouw, Theegala, Clay Feagler and Derek Hitchner — with Manke and Theegala advancing to match play.
ROSTER — In addition to returning five of the six players who competed at the 2019 WCC and NCAA Championships, the Waves got back two-time All-American Sahith Theegala, who redshirted last season due to a wrist injury. Theegala, Clay Feagler and Joshua McCarthy have all earned All-WCC first team honors three times. Feagler and RJ Manke have been medalists at the WCC Championships. Joe Highsmith was the WCC Freshman of the Year last season and the Waves' top performer in the postseason. Plus, the program has added four newcomers that include two AJGA All-Americans (William Mouw and Dylan Menante) and a transfer who was an All-Mountain West Conference selection at Nevada (Joey Vrzich). The 11-man roster breakdown is three seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen.
RECORDS WATCH — Four current Waves rank among Pepperdine's top nine on the all-time scoring list — Sahith Theegala at #1 (70.88), Clay Feagler at #3 (71.91), Joshua McCarthy at #4 (72.13) and RJ Manke at #9 (72.97). Theegala is closing in on the record for most career below-par rounds (he's second with 59, Michael Putnam's record is 68).
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. Last season, the Waves made their 10th appearance at the NCAA Championships since 1993 and finished in 11th place. Pepperdine has achieved NCAA Regional berths in 24 of the last 28 years. In the West Coast Conference, the Waves have won a league-best 20 championships since 1987 and have finished either first or second in 26 of the last 33 years.
BEARD — Former Pepperdine All-American Michael Beard, a four-time WCC Coach of the Year, is in his eighth 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 became the first WCC men's golf coach ever to earn Coach of the Year honors three consecutive years (2016-18) and his streak now stands at four. His Waves won the 2015, 2018 and 2019 WCC titles and advanced to the NCAA Championships in 2017 and 2019. 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.
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 #50 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
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Coming off the program's 20th West Coast Conference title and an 11th-place showing at the NCAA Championships, the Waves have an unprecedented amount of talent and depth on this year's team, and were listed as high as #2 in preseason rankings.
EVENT INFO — The Fighting Illini Invitational will be held at the par-70, 7,205-yard Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Illinois. Teams will play a single round each day between Friday and Sunday (Sept. 20-22). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.
FIELD — The 15-team field includes Pepperdine, host Illinois, Alabama, Baylor, California, Florida, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, North Carolina, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and UNLV.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The Waves' lineup consists of freshman William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS), sophomore Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep), senior Sahith Theegala (Chino Hills, Calif./Diamond Bar HS), sophomore Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) and junior RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School).
EVENT HISTORY — This is the 14th year of the Fighting Illini Invitational and it's the first time that the Waves have participated.
PRESEASON HYPE — The Waves have preseason rankings of #2 by Golfweek, #3 by Golf Channel and #10 in the Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll ... Sahith Theegala was named to Golfweek's preseason All-American first team, while William Mouw was on the third team. Mouw was also listed among Golfweek's top 10 freshmen in the country.
SUMMER SUCCESS — Five different Waves raised a trophy during summer 2019, including a sweep of the three main amateur events in California. William Mouw won the California Amateur Championship (becoming one of the youngest players ever to do so), Sahith Theegala captured the SCGA Amateur and Joshua McCarthy was victorious at the NCGA Amateur. Elsewhere, Joe Highsmith won the Sahalee Players Championship and RJ Manke won the Mexico Internacional Amateur. Six Waves played in the U.S. Amateur — Highsmith, Manke, Mouw, Theegala, Clay Feagler and Derek Hitchner — with Manke and Theegala advancing to match play.
ROSTER — In addition to returning five of the six players who competed at the 2019 WCC and NCAA Championships, the Waves got back two-time All-American Sahith Theegala, who redshirted last season due to a wrist injury. Theegala, Clay Feagler and Joshua McCarthy have all earned All-WCC first team honors three times. Feagler and RJ Manke have been medalists at the WCC Championships. Joe Highsmith was the WCC Freshman of the Year last season and the Waves' top performer in the postseason. Plus, the program has added four newcomers that include two AJGA All-Americans (William Mouw and Dylan Menante) and a transfer who was an All-Mountain West Conference selection at Nevada (Joey Vrzich). The 11-man roster breakdown is three seniors, three juniors, two sophomores and three freshmen.
RECORDS WATCH — Four current Waves rank among Pepperdine's top nine on the all-time scoring list — Sahith Theegala at #1 (70.88), Clay Feagler at #3 (71.91), Joshua McCarthy at #4 (72.13) and RJ Manke at #9 (72.97). Theegala is closing in on the record for most career below-par rounds (he's second with 59, Michael Putnam's record is 68).
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. Last season, the Waves made their 10th appearance at the NCAA Championships since 1993 and finished in 11th place. Pepperdine has achieved NCAA Regional berths in 24 of the last 28 years. In the West Coast Conference, the Waves have won a league-best 20 championships since 1987 and have finished either first or second in 26 of the last 33 years.
BEARD — Former Pepperdine All-American Michael Beard, a four-time WCC Coach of the Year, is in his eighth 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 became the first WCC men's golf coach ever to earn Coach of the Year honors three consecutive years (2016-18) and his streak now stands at four. His Waves won the 2015, 2018 and 2019 WCC titles and advanced to the NCAA Championships in 2017 and 2019. 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.
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 #50 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
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