WAIKOLOA, Hawai'i – In possibly one of the greatest finishes in Pepperdine men's golf history, the Waves rallied from a 12-shot deficit and got incredible rounds from a pair of freshmen – including medalist William Mouw – to win the Amer Ari Invitational on Saturday.
 
Pepperdine began the day tied for fourth place and paired with three of the best programs in the country in Georgia Tech (which had the 12-shot lead), Texas and Arizona State. But the Waves fired an 18-under 270 – tying the second-best round in program history – to finish with a 39-under 825 (281-274-270) – the third-best 54-hole score in program history – and beat the Longhorns by two shots at the par-72 Waikoloa Kings Course.
 
It was close coming down the stretch but both Mouw and Dylan Menante ended their rounds with eagles. In fact, Mouw went birdie-eagle (with a 45-foot putt) to finish at 8-under on the day and 13-under for the tournament to earn a share of the 54-hole lead. He won on the first playoff hole to claim his first college victory. Menante, meanwhile, ended his round by going eagle-birdie-eagle to shoot 7-under on the day.
 
The Waves also won their own Southwestern Invitational to begin the spring season. This is just the second time in program history that the Waves have won back-to-back tournaments and the first time since 1996. Pepperdine has won three tournaments in a season for the second straight year and the fourth time in program history.
 
PLAYER SCORES

• Freshman William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) began the final round tied for 17th place and eight shots behind the leader. But his college-best 8-under 64 brought him all the way back and let him finish with a 13-under 203 (71-68-64). Mouw had no miscues on the day and posted six birdies before getting the eagle on the par-5 18th. He tied for first with Arizona State's Mason Andersen but won the playoff, which took place on the 18th. After Andersen recorded par, Mouw made a 6-foot birdie putt for the win. Mouw had a team-high 15 birdies over the three days.
• Senior Sahith Theegala (Chino Hills, Calif./Diamond Bar HS) tied for sixth place with a 10-under 206 (66-68-72). His final round included four birdies, with one of them on 18.
• Freshman Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS) moved up 34 spots and into a tie for 14th place with an 8-under 208 (72-71-65). He had zero bogeys on the day and had two birdies and 13 pars on his first 15 holes before finishing eagle-birdie-eagle.
• Junior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada) tied for 21st with a 6-under 210 (72-69-69). He also contributed to the Waves' great finish with two birdies on his final three holes. His 3-under round had a total of six birdies. He had 14 birdies in all.
• Senior Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) tied for 56th with an even-par 216 (73-69-74). He had three birdies in the final round. Feagler had a total of 38 pars, one shy of most in the tournament.
• Playing as an individual, sophomore Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) tied for 56th with an even-par 216 (74-72-70). His 2-under included six birdies today.

QUOTABLE
 
Head coach Michael Beard said: "It was an insane finish. Just incredible. What Dylan and Mouw did, that was crazy. Mouw made a six-foot birdie on 17 and a 45-foot eagle putt on 18 to tie before winning in the playoff. Dylan hit an unbelievable 4-iron on 18 to six feet and made an eagle, hit to seven feet on 1 for a birdie, and made it from 20 feet on 2, his last hole, for an eagle. We needed all of that the way it was going. Sahith's last hole, I told him he needed to get up-and-down and he hit an awesome shot and made birdie. This was just a total team win. This is probably one of the bigger tournaments we've won. We're just going to keep going and get ready for The Prestige. Guys are hungry and have that feeling that they want to keep doing this."
 
UP NEXT
 
Pepperdine's attempt at a third straight team title will take place at The Prestige in La Quinta, Calif., from February 17-19.
 
THE NUMBERS
 
Team Scores: 1. Pepperdine 825; 2. Texas 827; 3. Arizona State 828; 4. Oklahoma State 829; 5. Georgia Tech 830; 6. Auburn 831; 7. Texas Tech 836; 8. San Jose State 852; 9. TCU 854; 10. Oregon 855; 11. Osaka Gakuin 856; 12. USC 861; 13. Colorado 863; 14. UC Davis 866; 15. Stanford 868; 16. CSUN 873; 17. Pacific 876; 18. Oregon State 878; 19. Hawai'i 885; 20. Hawai'i-Hilo 902.
 
Top Individuals: 1. William Mouw (Pepperdine) 203**; 2. Mason Andersen (Arizona State) 203; T3. Andy Ogletree (Georgia Tech) 204; T3. Aman Gupta (Oklahoma State) 204; 5. Pierceson Coody (Texas) 205.
 
** won in a playoff