Thursday, February 6
Waimea, Hawai'i
Pepperdine University
at
Amer Ari Invitational
Clay Feagler
Photo by: Roger Horne
Men's Golf Heads to Hawai'i for Next Event
2/4/2020 12:48:00 PM | Men's Golf
MALIBU, California — The #4 Pepperdine men's golf team's second tournament of the spring season is another good one as the Waves head to Hawai'i and the Amer Ari Invitational this week.
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.
The Waves have won twice this season and are coming off a victory at their own Southwestern Invitational. Sahith Theegala also has two victories.
EVENT INFO — The Amer Ari Invitational will be held at the par-72, 7,074-yard Waikoloa Kings Course in Waikoloa, Hawai'i. Eighteen holes will be played each day between Thursday and Saturday (Feb. 6-8). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.
FIELD — In addition to Pepperdine, the 20-team field includes co-hosts Hawai'i and Hawai'i-Hilo, Arizona State, Auburn, Colorado, CSUN, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Osaka Gakuin (Japan), Pacific, San Jose State, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, UC Davis and USC.Â
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), senior Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) 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 — The Waves competed in this event for 14 consecutive years from 1993-2006 but not since then. Pepperdine's best finish was a tie for third in 1997.
RANKINGS — 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 (70.70), Joe Highsmith at #3 (71.73), Clay Feagler at #4 (71.80), Joshua McCarthy at #5 (72.01) and RJ Manke at #10 (73.04) ... Theegala has tied the school career records for most wins (four, with Jim Johnson and Kevin Marsh) and most below-par rounds (68, with Michael Putnam).
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.
The Waves have won twice this season and are coming off a victory at their own Southwestern Invitational. Sahith Theegala also has two victories.
EVENT INFO — The Amer Ari Invitational will be held at the par-72, 7,074-yard Waikoloa Kings Course in Waikoloa, Hawai'i. Eighteen holes will be played each day between Thursday and Saturday (Feb. 6-8). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.
FIELD — In addition to Pepperdine, the 20-team field includes co-hosts Hawai'i and Hawai'i-Hilo, Arizona State, Auburn, Colorado, CSUN, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Osaka Gakuin (Japan), Pacific, San Jose State, Stanford, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech, UC Davis and USC.Â
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), senior Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) 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 — The Waves competed in this event for 14 consecutive years from 1993-2006 but not since then. Pepperdine's best finish was a tie for third in 1997.
RANKINGS — 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 (70.70), Joe Highsmith at #3 (71.73), Clay Feagler at #4 (71.80), Joshua McCarthy at #5 (72.01) and RJ Manke at #10 (73.04) ... Theegala has tied the school career records for most wins (four, with Jim Johnson and Kevin Marsh) and most below-par rounds (68, with Michael Putnam).
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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