Sunday, March 1
Las Vegas, Nev.
Pepperdine University
at
Southern Highlands Collegiate
Joey Vrzich and Blaine Woodruff
Photo by: Jeff Golden
#1 Men's Golf Goes to Southern Highlands Collegiate
2/28/2020 12:36:00 PM | Men's Golf
MALIBU, California — The #1 Pepperdine men's golf team looks to keep its momentum going when the Waves take on an exceptional field at the Southern Highlands Collegiate starting Sunday. Seven top-10 and 12 top-50 teams will be in attendance.
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, which has resulted in three victories so far and the program's first-ever #1 computer ranking. Pepperdine has finished first or second in five straight tournaments.
EVENT INFO — The Southern Highlands Collegiate will be held at the par-72, 7,510-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. Eighteen holes will be played each day between Sunday and Tuesday (March 1-3). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat. The final round of the tournament will be live streamed at Golfweek.com.
FIELD — In addition to #1 Pepperdine, the 15-team field includes host #67 UNLV, #7 Duke, #26 Florida, #16 Georgia, #3 Georgia Tech, #28 New Mexico, #2 Oklahoma, #10 SMU, #69 TCU, #8 Texas, #5 Texas Tech, #65 UCF, #22 UCLA and #36 USC (Golfstat ranking indicated).
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The Waves' lineup consists of senior Sahith Theegala (Chino Hills, Calif./Diamond Bar HS), freshman William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS), junior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada), sophomore Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School) and freshman Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS). Also, sophomore Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) will compete as an individual.
EVENT HISTORY — This is the fourth straight year that the Waves have played in the Southern Highlands Collegiate. Their best finish was a tie for fourth in 2017.
RANKINGS — The Waves are ranked #1 by Golfstat, #2 in the Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll and #3 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Sahith Theegala is #3 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #4 by Golfstat ... William Mouw is #7 by Golfstat and #14 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Joey Vrzich is #31 by Golfstat and #44 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Dylan Menante is #68 by Golfstat and #126 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Joe Highsmith is #73 by Golfstat and #81 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Mouw is #1 and Theegala is #3 on the Arnold Palmer Cup rankings ... Theegala is #5 and Mouw is #16 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
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.
2019-20 AWARDS — Sahith Theegala was named the Ben Hogan Award's Player of the Month for January. Both Theegala and William Mouw have been on the Ben Haskins Award and Ben Hogan Award watch lists.Â
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 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 (70.63), Joe Highsmith at #3 (71.71), Clay Feagler at #4 (71.81), Joshua McCarthy at #5 (71.99) and RJ Manke at #10 (73.01) ... Theegala has tied the school career records for most wins (four, with Jim Johnson and Kevin Marsh) and set the record for most below-par rounds (72). Theegala needs one more top-20 finish to tie the school record of 36.
TEAM TITLES — The Waves have won three times in 2019-20, equaling the most in program history. The Waves also won three tournaments in 1995-96, 2003-04 and 2018-19. The Waves won the Alister MacKenzie Invitational for the second straight year in the fall. They began the spring with back-to-back wins at their own Southwestern Invitational and then the Amer Ari Invitational in Hawai'i. The Waves rallied from 12 strokes back in the final round to beat three of the top programs in the country at the Amer Ari. Pepperdine recorded the second and third-lowest 54-hole scores in program history this season (-43 at the MacKenzie and -39 at the Amer Ari), and tied the second-lowest 18-hole score (-18 at both the MacKenzie and Amer Ari). At the Southwestern at North Ranch Country Club, five Waves finished in the top 10 and all 10 that played were in the top 30.
INDIVIDUAL TITLES — Sahith Theegala has won twice this season (and four times in his career, equaling the Pepperdine record). Theegala shot a 16-under 197 at the MacKenzie, tying the third-best score in program history, to win by one shot. He won the Waves' own Southwestern Invitational by one stroke with a 12-under 204. William Mouw won his first career title at the Amer Ari Invitational. He made a 45-foot eagle putt on 18 to finish with a 13-under 203 and put him into a playoff, which he won on the first hole.
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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 2019 NCAA Championships, the Waves have an unprecedented amount of talent and depth on this year's team, which has resulted in three victories so far and the program's first-ever #1 computer ranking. Pepperdine has finished first or second in five straight tournaments.
EVENT INFO — The Southern Highlands Collegiate will be held at the par-72, 7,510-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. Eighteen holes will be played each day between Sunday and Tuesday (March 1-3). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat. The final round of the tournament will be live streamed at Golfweek.com.
FIELD — In addition to #1 Pepperdine, the 15-team field includes host #67 UNLV, #7 Duke, #26 Florida, #16 Georgia, #3 Georgia Tech, #28 New Mexico, #2 Oklahoma, #10 SMU, #69 TCU, #8 Texas, #5 Texas Tech, #65 UCF, #22 UCLA and #36 USC (Golfstat ranking indicated).
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The Waves' lineup consists of senior Sahith Theegala (Chino Hills, Calif./Diamond Bar HS), freshman William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS), junior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada), sophomore Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School) and freshman Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS). Also, sophomore Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) will compete as an individual.
EVENT HISTORY — This is the fourth straight year that the Waves have played in the Southern Highlands Collegiate. Their best finish was a tie for fourth in 2017.
RANKINGS — The Waves are ranked #1 by Golfstat, #2 in the Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll and #3 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Sahith Theegala is #3 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #4 by Golfstat ... William Mouw is #7 by Golfstat and #14 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Joey Vrzich is #31 by Golfstat and #44 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Dylan Menante is #68 by Golfstat and #126 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Joe Highsmith is #73 by Golfstat and #81 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Mouw is #1 and Theegala is #3 on the Arnold Palmer Cup rankings ... Theegala is #5 and Mouw is #16 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
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.
2019-20 AWARDS — Sahith Theegala was named the Ben Hogan Award's Player of the Month for January. Both Theegala and William Mouw have been on the Ben Haskins Award and Ben Hogan Award watch lists.Â
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 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 (70.63), Joe Highsmith at #3 (71.71), Clay Feagler at #4 (71.81), Joshua McCarthy at #5 (71.99) and RJ Manke at #10 (73.01) ... Theegala has tied the school career records for most wins (four, with Jim Johnson and Kevin Marsh) and set the record for most below-par rounds (72). Theegala needs one more top-20 finish to tie the school record of 36.
TEAM TITLES — The Waves have won three times in 2019-20, equaling the most in program history. The Waves also won three tournaments in 1995-96, 2003-04 and 2018-19. The Waves won the Alister MacKenzie Invitational for the second straight year in the fall. They began the spring with back-to-back wins at their own Southwestern Invitational and then the Amer Ari Invitational in Hawai'i. The Waves rallied from 12 strokes back in the final round to beat three of the top programs in the country at the Amer Ari. Pepperdine recorded the second and third-lowest 54-hole scores in program history this season (-43 at the MacKenzie and -39 at the Amer Ari), and tied the second-lowest 18-hole score (-18 at both the MacKenzie and Amer Ari). At the Southwestern at North Ranch Country Club, five Waves finished in the top 10 and all 10 that played were in the top 30.
INDIVIDUAL TITLES — Sahith Theegala has won twice this season (and four times in his career, equaling the Pepperdine record). Theegala shot a 16-under 197 at the MacKenzie, tying the third-best score in program history, to win by one shot. He won the Waves' own Southwestern Invitational by one stroke with a 12-under 204. William Mouw won his first career title at the Amer Ari Invitational. He made a 45-foot eagle putt on 18 to finish with a 13-under 203 and put him into a playoff, which he won on the first hole.
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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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