LA QUINTA, California – The #1 Pepperdine men's golf team couldn't make another final-round comeback and settled for a second-place finish at The Prestige on Wednesday.
The Waves shot a 14-under 838 (275-284-279) at the par-71 Greg Norman Course at PGA West and finished six strokes behind Texas. They began the day five back and although they closed the gap at times over the course of the third round, they couldn't quite catch up to the Longhorns.
Pepperdine began the spring season with wins at the Southwestern Invitational and Amer Ari Invitational (coming back from a 12-stroke deficit in the final round) and has attained a #1 ranking in the computer polls for the first time. The Waves have finished first or second at five consecutive tournaments.
PLAYER SCORES
- Senior Sahith Theegala (Chino Hills, Calif./Diamond Bar HS) tied for sixth place with a 5-under 208 (67-72-69). He had three birdies today to post a 2-under. He extended his own Pepperdine career record with his 72nd below-par round. It was his 35th career top-20 finish, one shy of the Pepperdine record.
- Junior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada) also tied for sixth place with a 5-under 208 (66-72-70). He was 2-over after 10 holes but recorded his first two birdies on 11 and 12 and got one more on 18 to finish 1-under on the day.
- Sophomore Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School) tied for 34th at 214 (73-72-69). He had six birdies during his 2-under round, including four on the front nine.
- Freshman William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) also tied for 34th at 214 (69-69-76). He had one birdie today.
- Junior RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School) tied for 45th at 217 (75-71-71). His second-straight even-par round saw him have two bogeys on the front nine but two birdies on the back nine.
- Playing as an individual in a separate tournament at the par-72 Coral Mountain Golf Club, sophomore Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) took second place with a 14-under 202 (70-63-69). The 14-under tied the sixth-best 54-hole score in program history. He had five birdies today during his 3-under round.
UP NEXT
Some Pepperdine individuals will take part in California Baptist's The Joust next Monday and Tuesday (Feb. 24-25), while the next team event is the Southern Highlands College in Las Vegas from March 1-3.
THE NUMBERS
Team Scores: 1. Texas 832;
2. Pepperdine 838; 3. San Diego State 841; 4. Texas Tech 843; 5. Oklahoma State 845; 6. SMU 847; 7. UCLA 849; 8. Stanford 850; 9. Iowa State 851; 10. Northwestern 858; T11. Oregon State 860; T11. LSU 860; 13. Arkansas 862; T14. UC Davis 870; T14. Stirling 870; 16. Wyoming 882.
Top Individuals: 1. Leo Oyo (San Diego State) 202; 2. Austin Eckroat (Oklahoma State) 203; 3. Spencer Soosman (Texas) 204; T4. Dan Starzinski (Wyoming) 207; T4. Ollie Osborne (SMU) 207.
