McCarthy, Waves Win Rustic Collegiate Classic

Friday, November 6

Moorpark, Calif.

Pepperdine University

Rustic Collegiate Classic

Photo by: Roger Horne

11/6/2020 5:14:00 PM | Men's Golf

Results Photo Gallery

By: by Athletic Communications

MOORPARK, California – Joshua McCarthy won for the second time in a month and the Pepperdine men's golf team closed out the fall season with its third victory in four events as the Waves took first place at the Rustic Collegiate Classic on Friday.

Pepperdine had a two-day total of a 21-under 831 (289-269-273) at the par-71 Rustic Canyon Golf Course and finished 22 strokes better than San Diego.

This tournament was the last of three West Coast Conference-only events played this fall. Both McCarthy and the Waves won the season-opening Pasadera Collegiate Invitational in early October against these same four WCC schools.

The Waves also took first place at the prestigious East Lake Cup and finished second against a strong field at the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational. It's the first time in program history that the Waves have won three fall tournaments.

All six Waves competing at this event finished in the top 10. Of the eight players who ended up below-par, five of them were from Pepperdine.

PLAYER SCORES

Senior Joshua McCarthy (Danville, Calif./De La Salle HS) posted his first college victory on October 6 at the Pasadera Collegiate Invitational and his second one came exactly a month later. Despite being tied for 17th after the first round, he bounced back in a big way to win the tournament by three shots with a 7-under 206 (75-64-67). His 4-under today was flawless, with four birdies on 3, 9, 10 and 13. McCarthy had a total of 16 birdies for the tournament, four more than any other player.
Senior RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) tied for second place with a 4-under 209 (71-70-68). His 3-under today also came without any miscues, and he posted birdies on 3, 5 and 9 before finishing with nine consecutive pars. Manke tied for the tournament lead with 38 pars overall.
Senior Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) tied for fifth with a 3-under 210. His 2-under today included three birdies and an eagle for the second consecutive round on the par-5 ninth hole.
Junior Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) also tied for fifth with a 3-under 210 (72-67-71). He had three birdies and an eagle today.
Junior Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) was eighth with a 1-under 212 (74-69-69). His second straight 2-under included five birdies.
Playing as an individual, senior Austin Murphy (Morgan Hill, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) finished 10th at 215 (74-72-69). His 2-under today featured five birdies.

QUOTABLE

Pepperdine Coach Michael Beard said: "After winning at East Lake, which was such a prestigious event, it was nice to come back home and compete and not have any sort of letdown. I was a little worried about that. Our team is very deep and any chance that they get to play, they want out to go and prove to themselves that they belong in the top five ... We've got 2 1/2 months until our next event. Guys will be playing some amateur events over the break, but in January we'll be starting over and that's okay. It's nice to have a little break right now. This fall was a good warmup and a good gauge for where we're at after last season ended in March. With our home tournament being the first one in January, I know the guys will be practicing and getting ready for our first qualifier so they can be in the lineup for that event."

Joshua McCarthy said: "It obviously feels amazing. This one was pretty special to me, I got off to such a poor start in the first round, I think I was the highest score on the team, and I wanted to get back in the second round and help the team out. I kind of found something with the swing and found something with the putter and tried to keep it going. To turn it around after the first round means a lot to me ... I think we feel very happy about where we're at. Three wins for the team and we'll be looking for more of the same in the spring. We'll have a lot of confidence coming out of this fall and we'll be looking ahead to the spring."

UP NEXT

The Waves are off until January 25-27, when they host the Southwestern Invitational presented by Topgolf at North Ranch Country Club. This year's event will be televised by the Golf Channel.

THE NUMBERS

Team Scores: Pepperdine 831; 2. San Diego 853; 3. BYU 856; 4. Loyola Marymount 870; 5. Saint Mary's 874.

Top Individuals: 1. Joshua McCarthy (Pepperdine) 206; T2. RJ Manke (Pepperdine) 209; T2. Carson Lundell (BYU) 209; T2. Andi Xu (San Diego) 209; T5. Clay Feagler (Pepperdine) 210; T5. Joe Highsmith (Pepperdine) 210.

And here's Joshua McCarthy knocking in the short par putt to give him the three-shot victory, his second this fall!#WavesUp pic.twitter.com/UQAszacxRc
— Pepperdine Men's Golf (@PeppGolf) November 6, 2020