Men's Golf Fourth at NCAAs Through Two Rounds

Saturday, May 29

Scottsdale, Ariz.

Pepperdine University

NCAA Championships

Joey Vrzich

Photo by: Roger Horne

5/29/2021 7:35:00 PM | Men's Golf

Interviews Round 2 Results Photo Gallery

By: by Athletic Communications

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – With Joey Vrzich posting his second straight 1-under 69, the Pepperdine men's golf team remains in good shape after Saturday's second round of the NCAA Championships, as the Waves are in fourth place.

The Waves have a two-day total of 565 (279-286) at the par-70 Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club. Pepperdine couldn't quite pull off a repeat of its exceptional first round, though a run of birdies early Saturday lifted the Waves into the lead for a moment. Tough stretches at the end of the front nine and at the close of the round cost the Waves the chance to keep a spot in the top three.

The tournament will be reduced to 15 teams after Sunday's third round (Pepperdine is currently 16 shots better than 16th) and to eight teams after Monday's fourth and final round of stroke play (the Waves are currently six shots better than ninth). Match play on Tuesday and Wednesday will determine the national champion.

Pepperdine, the 1997 national champion, is competing at the NCAA finals for the 11th time in program history, and for the third time in the last four tournaments.

PLAYER SCORES

Senior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada) is tied for seventh place with a 2-under 138 (69-69). His second round began with 10 consecutive pars. He then had three birdies over the final eight holes and finished at 1-under again. He's three shots out of second and six behind the leader.
Sophomore William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) is tied for 26th at 142 (68-74). Mouw went into the lead briefly after recording three consecutive birdies on holes 2, 3 and 4, though those would end up being his only three birdies of the day.
Senior Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) is tied for 33rd at 143 (72-71). He had five birdies in the second round, with three coming on the back nine. Feagler played in his 162nd career round today, tying head coach Michael Beard for the most in Pepperdine history.
Sophomore Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS) is tied for 45th at 144 (70-74). He had two birdies on Saturday.
Junior Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) came in as a second-round substitute and posted a 72. He had a total of five birdies, three of which came on the front nine.

QUOTABLE

Pepperdine Coach Michael Beard said: "We didn't play great today. It was fine early on, we played nice to start, but made some silly bogeys. You're going to have a little bad stretch at some point in this tournament. We just had our bad stretch here today. As far as tomorrow goes, we'll just relax this afternoon, talk about the course a little bit and get ready for the third round. Joey had a solid round. He's been playing steady for us the whole spring. It doesn't surprise me, he's a great ball-striker and he's finding his groove."

UP NEXT

On Sunday, Pepperdine will be paired with Illinois and North Carolina and they'll start on the 10th tee beginning at 6:32 a.m.

THE NUMBERS

Team Scores: 1. Oklahoma State 554; 2. Oklahoma 559; 3. Arizona State 562; 4. Pepperdine 565; T5. Illinois 566; T5. North Carolina 566; 7. Sam Houston State 570; T8. Clemson 571; T8. Wake Forest 571; 10. Vanderbilt 573; 11. Florida State 575; T12. Georgia Tech 577; T12. Louisville 577; T14. Texas Tech 580; T14. Arkansas 580; T16. SMU 581; T16. Georgia 581; 18. Oregon State 582; 19. Texas 584; T20. TCU 585; T20. Tennessee 585; T22. Florida 587; T22. San Diego State 587; 24. North Carolina State 590; 25. East Tennessee State 591; 26. UAB 592; T27. San Diego 595; T27. Liberty 595; 29. Little Rock 597; 30. San Francisco 600.

Top Individuals: 1. Bo Jin (Oklahoma State) 132; T2. Ryggs Johnston (Arizona State) 135; T2. Turk Pettit (Clemson) 135; 4. Carson Barry (Oregon State) 136; T5. Quade Cummins (Oklahoma) 137; T5. Jonathan Brightwell (Oklahoma) 137.

VIDEO | Sights and sounds from round 2 of the #NCAAGolf Championships!#WavesUp pic.twitter.com/yHT9WtpUzq
— Pepperdine Men's Golf (@PeppGolf) May 29, 2021