LA QUINTA, California – The #1 Pepperdine men's golf team continued its hot start to the spring season by taking the first-round lead at The Prestige on Monday.
Joey Vrzich has the individual lead while
Sahith Theegala is tied for second.
The Waves opened with a 9-under 275 to take a three-shot advantage over Texas Tech at the par-71 Greg Norman Course at PGA West. Pepperdine is going for its third straight victory after starting the spring with wins at the Southwestern Invitational and Amer Ari Invitational and attaining a #1 ranking in the computer polls for the first time.
PLAYER SCORES
- Junior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada) shot a 5-under 66 to take a one-shot lead in the individual race. His round began with a bogey, but that was his only miscue on the day. He had two birdies on the front nine, then added four more in a six-hole span on the back nine.
- Senior Sahith Theegala (Chino Hills, Calif./Diamond Bar HS) is tied for second after a 4-under 67. He also had a single bogey early, then came back with four consecutive birdies on holes 8, 9, 10 and 11 before getting one more on 14.
- Freshman William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) is tied for ninth place with a 2-under 69. He had three birdies on the day.
- Sophomore Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School) is tied for 38th after a 73. He had four birdies today.
- Junior RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School) is tied for 54th after a 75. He had three birdies.
- Playing as an individual in a separate tournament at the par-72 Coral Mountain Golf Club, sophomore Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) is tied for fifth place after a 2-under 70. His round included an eagle on the par-5 18th and three birdies.
UP NEXT
Tuesday's second round will begin at 8:40 a.m. for the Waves. They'll start on the first tee along with Texas Tech, Texas and UCLA.
THE NUMBERS
Team Scores: 1. Pepperdine 275; 2. Texas Tech 278; 3. Texas 279; T4. UCLA 285; T4. UC Davis 285; T6. Iowa State 286; T6 .SMU 286; 8. San Diego State 287; 9. LSU 289; T10. Northwestern 290; T10 Stanford 290; T10. Oregon State 290; 13. Oklahoma State 291; 14. Arkansas 293; 15. Stirling 295; 16. Wyoming 311.
Top Individuals: 1. Joey Vrzich (Pepperdine) 66;
T2. Sahith Theegala (Pepperdine) 67; T2. Thomas Hutchison (UC Davis) 67; T2. Noah Goodwin (SMU) 67; T5. four players tied at 68.
