Monday, January 27
Westlake Village, Calif.
Pepperdine University
vs
Southwestern Invitational
Michael Beard and Clay Feagler
Photo by: Roger Horne
Southwestern Invitational Set for Monday, Tuesday
1/24/2020 3:44:00 PM | Men's Golf
MALIBU, California — Five of the nation's top 25 men's golf teams and eight of the top 50 are coming to Southern California next week to take part in the Southwestern Invitational, hosted by Pepperdine.
The #4 Waves are the highest-ranked team in the field. This is the first tournament of the spring season.
Coming off the program's 20th West Coast Conference title and an 11th-place showing at the 2019 NCAA Championships, the Waves have an unprecedented amount of talent and depth on this year's team.
EVENT INFO — The Southwestern Invitational will be held at the par-72, 6,992-yard North Ranch Country Club (Lakes and Oaks courses) in Westlake Village, California. Thirty-six holes will be contested on Monday (Jan. 27) with tee times starting at 7:45 a.m. The final 18 holes will be on Tuesday (Jan. 28), also with tee times starting at 7:45 a.m. Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.
FIELD — With Golfweek/Sagarin ranking included, the 12-team field includes #4 Pepperdine, #17 Arizona State, #78 Augusta, #14 BYU, #32 California, #21 LSU, #137 North Texas, #65 San Jose State, #28 Stanford, #86 UC Davis, #23 UCLA and #41 USC.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The Waves have not yet finalized their lineup, but a total of 10 players will be in action.
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 its with its own home tournament, which had been played at a few different sites.
Pepperdine won the tournament in both 2006 and 2017. Sahith Theegala was medalist in 2017, following in the footsteps of Michael Walton (1995) and Jason Gore (1997).
USC and the Trojans' Justin Suh were the winners in 2019.
RANKINGS — Heading into the spring season, the Waves are ranked #4 in the Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll, #4 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #6 by Golfstat ... William Mouw is #13 by Golfstat and #15 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Sahith Theegala is #14 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #23 by Golfstat ... Joey Vrzich is #66 by Golfstat ... Joe Highsmith is #68 by Golfstat and #74 by Golfweek/Sagarin.
PRESEASON HYPE — The Waves had 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.
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 — Five current Waves rank among Pepperdine's top 10 on the all-time scoring list — Sahith Theegala at #1 (70.77), Joe Highsmith at #3 (71.63), Clay Feagler at #4 (71.80), Joshua McCarthy at #5 (71.97) and RJ Manke at #10 (73.04) ... Theegala is closing in on the records for most career below-par rounds (he's second with 65, Michael Putnam's record is 68) and most top-20 finishes (he's third with 32, both Andrew and Michael Putnam had 36) ... Theegala and Feagler have each won three tournaments, one shy of the Pepperdine career record.
MACKENZIE — The Waves won the Alister MacKenzie Invitational for the second straight year with near-record scores, while Sahith Theegala was medalist. The Waves posted the second-best scores for 18 holes (-18), 36 holes (-29) and 54 holes (-43) in program history. The records were set at the MacKenzie in 2018. Theegala shot a 16-under 197, tying the third-best score in program history, to win by one shot.
NON-PEPPERDINE RESULTS — 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. During the winter break, Theegala went to Australia and won the Master of the Amateurs in early January.
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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The #4 Waves are the highest-ranked team in the field. This is the first tournament of the spring season.
Coming off the program's 20th West Coast Conference title and an 11th-place showing at the 2019 NCAA Championships, the Waves have an unprecedented amount of talent and depth on this year's team.
EVENT INFO — The Southwestern Invitational will be held at the par-72, 6,992-yard North Ranch Country Club (Lakes and Oaks courses) in Westlake Village, California. Thirty-six holes will be contested on Monday (Jan. 27) with tee times starting at 7:45 a.m. The final 18 holes will be on Tuesday (Jan. 28), also with tee times starting at 7:45 a.m. Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.
FIELD — With Golfweek/Sagarin ranking included, the 12-team field includes #4 Pepperdine, #17 Arizona State, #78 Augusta, #14 BYU, #32 California, #21 LSU, #137 North Texas, #65 San Jose State, #28 Stanford, #86 UC Davis, #23 UCLA and #41 USC.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The Waves have not yet finalized their lineup, but a total of 10 players will be in action.
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 its with its own home tournament, which had been played at a few different sites.
Pepperdine won the tournament in both 2006 and 2017. Sahith Theegala was medalist in 2017, following in the footsteps of Michael Walton (1995) and Jason Gore (1997).
USC and the Trojans' Justin Suh were the winners in 2019.
RANKINGS — Heading into the spring season, the Waves are ranked #4 in the Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll, #4 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #6 by Golfstat ... William Mouw is #13 by Golfstat and #15 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Sahith Theegala is #14 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #23 by Golfstat ... Joey Vrzich is #66 by Golfstat ... Joe Highsmith is #68 by Golfstat and #74 by Golfweek/Sagarin.
PRESEASON HYPE — The Waves had 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.
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 — Five current Waves rank among Pepperdine's top 10 on the all-time scoring list — Sahith Theegala at #1 (70.77), Joe Highsmith at #3 (71.63), Clay Feagler at #4 (71.80), Joshua McCarthy at #5 (71.97) and RJ Manke at #10 (73.04) ... Theegala is closing in on the records for most career below-par rounds (he's second with 65, Michael Putnam's record is 68) and most top-20 finishes (he's third with 32, both Andrew and Michael Putnam had 36) ... Theegala and Feagler have each won three tournaments, one shy of the Pepperdine career record.
MACKENZIE — The Waves won the Alister MacKenzie Invitational for the second straight year with near-record scores, while Sahith Theegala was medalist. The Waves posted the second-best scores for 18 holes (-18), 36 holes (-29) and 54 holes (-43) in program history. The records were set at the MacKenzie in 2018. Theegala shot a 16-under 197, tying the third-best score in program history, to win by one shot.
NON-PEPPERDINE RESULTS — 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. During the winter break, Theegala went to Australia and won the Master of the Amateurs in early January.
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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