Monday, April 12
San Jose, Calif.
Pepperdine University
at
Western Intercollegiate
William Mouw
Photo by: Jeff Golden
Men's Golf Competes at Western Intercollegiate
4/10/2021 6:06:00 PM | Men's Golf
MALIBU, California — The #7 Pepperdine men's golf team has one more big event before the postseason begins, as the 74th Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf starts Monday with national TV coverage.
EVENT INFO — The Western Intercollegiate will be held at the par-70, 6,615-yard Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, California. There will be 18 holes each day between Monday and Wednesday (April 12-14). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat. The Golf Channel will have live coverage from 4-7 p.m. each day.
FIELD — In addition to Pepperdine, the 13-team field includes host San Jose State, BYU, California, Colorado State, Hawai'i, Oregon, San Diego State, Stanford, UC Irvine, USC, UTEP and Washington.
The Waves are the highest-ranked team in the field, which features four top-50 teams according to Golfstat.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — This is a play-six, count-five event. The Waves' lineup consists of  sophomore Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS), senior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada), junior Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School), sophomore William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS), senior Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) and senior RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School).
Additionally, senior Joshua McCarthy (Danville, Calif./De La Salle HS), senior Austin Murphy (Morgan Hill, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) and junior Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) will compete as individuals.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY — This is Pepperdine's 11th appearance at the Western Intercollegiate since 1991, and their fifth in a row. Their best finishes were second in 1999 and 2000 and they came in fifth in 2019. Jason Allred won the tournament in 2000.
RANKINGS — The Waves are ranked #7 by Golfstat, #8 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #11 in the most recent Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll (March 26). Dylan Menante is #16 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #40 by Golfstat, Joey Vrzich is #19 by Golfweek and #20 by Golfweek/Sagarin, Joshua McCarthy is #44 by Golfweek/Sagarin, Joe Highsmith is #48 by Golfstat and #65 by Golfweek/Sagarin and RJ Manke is #49 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #76 by Golfstat.
The Waves ended spring 2020 ranked #1 in the Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll and in the Golfstat computer rankings, and #2 by Golfweek/Sagarin. The Waves had nine players in the Golfweek/Sagarin top 200, eight of whom are returners.
AWARDS — William Mouw was on the first Haskins Award watch list of the season, and Dylan Menante made the updated list in November and March ... Mouw has been named to the team that will represent the U.S. in the Walker Cup in May.
EAST LAKE — The exclusive East Lake Cup, held in Atlanta, Ga. (Oct. 26-28) brought together the four highest-ranked teams in the nation from when the season ended in mid-March. After a round of stroke play, the Waves brought home the trophy by beating Texas Tech 3-2 in the semfinals and Oklahoma 4-1 in the championship. Joe Highsmith, Derek Hitchner and Dylan Menante each went 2-0 in match play.
MORE HIGHLIGHTS — Joshua McCarthy won two WCC-only fall events, the Pasadera Collegiate Invitational and the Rustic Collegiate Classic. It's the eighth time in program history (and the fourth year in a row) that a Wave has won twice in one season ... Dylan Menante has three second-place finishes among five top-10 results and went 2-0 in match play at the East Lake Cup ... Pepperdine has won three tournaments for the third straight season and the fifth time in program history. The Waves have never won more than three ... Pepperdine's own Southwestern Invitational was televised by the Golf Channel for the first time.
RECORDS WATCH — Five current Waves rank among Pepperdine's top 10 on the all-time scoring list — Joe Highsmith at #2 (71.52), Clay Feagler at #4 (71.84), Joshua McCarthy at #5 (71.92), Derek Hitchner at #6 (72.23) and RJ Manke at #10 (72.71) ... Feagler has three career wins, one off the school record ... McCarthy and Feagler have played in 157 and 151 career rounds, respectively, and are approaching Michael Beard's school record of 162 ... McCarthy is tied for third in below-par rounds (63), fourth in top-20 finishes (32) and tied for sixth in top-10 finishes (19) ... Feagler is tied for third in below-par rounds (63), tied for ninth in top-10 finishes (17) and eighth in top-20 finishes (26) ... Highsmith is 10th in below-par rounds (39).
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 #49 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
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EVENT INFO — The Western Intercollegiate will be held at the par-70, 6,615-yard Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, California. There will be 18 holes each day between Monday and Wednesday (April 12-14). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat. The Golf Channel will have live coverage from 4-7 p.m. each day.
FIELD — In addition to Pepperdine, the 13-team field includes host San Jose State, BYU, California, Colorado State, Hawai'i, Oregon, San Diego State, Stanford, UC Irvine, USC, UTEP and Washington.
The Waves are the highest-ranked team in the field, which features four top-50 teams according to Golfstat.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — This is a play-six, count-five event. The Waves' lineup consists of  sophomore Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS), senior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada), junior Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School), sophomore William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS), senior Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) and senior RJ Manke (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Preparatory School).
Additionally, senior Joshua McCarthy (Danville, Calif./De La Salle HS), senior Austin Murphy (Morgan Hill, Calif./Bellarmine College Preparatory) and junior Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) will compete as individuals.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY — This is Pepperdine's 11th appearance at the Western Intercollegiate since 1991, and their fifth in a row. Their best finishes were second in 1999 and 2000 and they came in fifth in 2019. Jason Allred won the tournament in 2000.
RANKINGS — The Waves are ranked #7 by Golfstat, #8 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #11 in the most recent Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll (March 26). Dylan Menante is #16 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #40 by Golfstat, Joey Vrzich is #19 by Golfweek and #20 by Golfweek/Sagarin, Joshua McCarthy is #44 by Golfweek/Sagarin, Joe Highsmith is #48 by Golfstat and #65 by Golfweek/Sagarin and RJ Manke is #49 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #76 by Golfstat.
The Waves ended spring 2020 ranked #1 in the Bushnell Golfweek coaches poll and in the Golfstat computer rankings, and #2 by Golfweek/Sagarin. The Waves had nine players in the Golfweek/Sagarin top 200, eight of whom are returners.
AWARDS — William Mouw was on the first Haskins Award watch list of the season, and Dylan Menante made the updated list in November and March ... Mouw has been named to the team that will represent the U.S. in the Walker Cup in May.
EAST LAKE — The exclusive East Lake Cup, held in Atlanta, Ga. (Oct. 26-28) brought together the four highest-ranked teams in the nation from when the season ended in mid-March. After a round of stroke play, the Waves brought home the trophy by beating Texas Tech 3-2 in the semfinals and Oklahoma 4-1 in the championship. Joe Highsmith, Derek Hitchner and Dylan Menante each went 2-0 in match play.
MORE HIGHLIGHTS — Joshua McCarthy won two WCC-only fall events, the Pasadera Collegiate Invitational and the Rustic Collegiate Classic. It's the eighth time in program history (and the fourth year in a row) that a Wave has won twice in one season ... Dylan Menante has three second-place finishes among five top-10 results and went 2-0 in match play at the East Lake Cup ... Pepperdine has won three tournaments for the third straight season and the fifth time in program history. The Waves have never won more than three ... Pepperdine's own Southwestern Invitational was televised by the Golf Channel for the first time.
RECORDS WATCH — Five current Waves rank among Pepperdine's top 10 on the all-time scoring list — Joe Highsmith at #2 (71.52), Clay Feagler at #4 (71.84), Joshua McCarthy at #5 (71.92), Derek Hitchner at #6 (72.23) and RJ Manke at #10 (72.71) ... Feagler has three career wins, one off the school record ... McCarthy and Feagler have played in 157 and 151 career rounds, respectively, and are approaching Michael Beard's school record of 162 ... McCarthy is tied for third in below-par rounds (63), fourth in top-20 finishes (32) and tied for sixth in top-10 finishes (19) ... Feagler is tied for third in below-par rounds (63), tied for ninth in top-10 finishes (17) and eighth in top-20 finishes (26) ... Highsmith is 10th in below-par rounds (39).
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 #49 overall on U.S. News and World Report's list of America's best colleges.
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