Monday, May 31
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Pepperdine University
at
NCAA Championships
Joe Highsmith and Michael Beard
Photo by: Roger Horne
Big Fourth Round Qualifies Waves for NCAA Match Play
5/31/2021 7:56:00 PM | Men's Golf
SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – Needing a good round to advance to match play for the first time in program history, the Pepperdine men's golf team instead turned in the best round of the NCAA Championships on Monday to finish stroke play in third place.
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The Waves shot a 9-under 271 in the fourth round to jump from ninth place to third place. They ended up with a four-day total of a 5-over 1,125 (279-286-289-271) at the par-70 Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club.
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Only Pepperdine and stroke play champion (and host) Arizona State (-5) went below-par on Monday. The third-best score of the day was 5-over. The second-best round by any team in the tournament was Oklahoma State's 274 on both Saturday and Sunday. Pepperdine's 9-under set a new school record for the NCAA Championships (the previous best was 4-under in 2004).
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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.
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UP NEXT
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Pepperdine has earned the #3 seed in match play and will take on #6 Florida State in the quarterfinals on Tuesday morning. The teams will start at 6:20 a.m. on the 10th tee. The winner will move on to the semifinals, which are also on Tuesday starting at 12:45 p.m., against either #2 Oklahoma State or #7 Vanderbilt.
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The other side of the bracket has #1 Arizona State vs. #8 North Carolina, and #4 Oklahoma vs. #5 Illinois.
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Golf Channel will have live coverage of the quarterfinals from 9-11:30 a.m. and of the semifinals from 2-6 p.m.
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PLAYER SCORES
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Pepperdine Coach Michael Beard said: "We're super thrilled for the guys. We're just so pleased with how they played and how they kept it together mentally. That was something we talked about last night. They weren't wrapped up in the score, they were just going to do their job, and each guy did that today. It does start over tomorrow, we're starting at zero, but I've got to think our guys will feel good about how they approached today and how they played the course, and I don't see that hurting one bit."
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THE NUMBERS
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Team Scores (top eight advance): 1. Arizona State 1,117; 2. Oklahoma State 1,120; 3. Pepperdine 1,125; 4. Oklahoma 1,130; 5. Illinois 1,134; 6. Florida State 1,136; 7. Vanderbilt 1,144; 8. North Carolina 1,145.
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Team Scores (seven teams cut): T9. Louisville 1,152; T9. Sam Houston State 1,152; T11. Arkansas 1,153; T11. Texas Tech 1,153; T13. Clemson 1,156; T13. Wake Forest 1,156; 15. Georgia Tech 1,169.
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Top Individuals: 1. Turk Pettit (Clemson) 273; 2. Bo Jin (Oklahoma State) 274; 3. Ryggs Johnston (Arizona State) 275; 4. Michael Feagles (Illinois) 276; 5. John Pak (Florida State) 277.
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The Waves shot a 9-under 271 in the fourth round to jump from ninth place to third place. They ended up with a four-day total of a 5-over 1,125 (279-286-289-271) at the par-70 Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club.
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Only Pepperdine and stroke play champion (and host) Arizona State (-5) went below-par on Monday. The third-best score of the day was 5-over. The second-best round by any team in the tournament was Oklahoma State's 274 on both Saturday and Sunday. Pepperdine's 9-under set a new school record for the NCAA Championships (the previous best was 4-under in 2004).
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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.
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UP NEXT
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Pepperdine has earned the #3 seed in match play and will take on #6 Florida State in the quarterfinals on Tuesday morning. The teams will start at 6:20 a.m. on the 10th tee. The winner will move on to the semifinals, which are also on Tuesday starting at 12:45 p.m., against either #2 Oklahoma State or #7 Vanderbilt.
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The other side of the bracket has #1 Arizona State vs. #8 North Carolina, and #4 Oklahoma vs. #5 Illinois.
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Golf Channel will have live coverage of the quarterfinals from 9-11:30 a.m. and of the semifinals from 2-6 p.m.
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PLAYER SCORES
- Sophomore William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) tied for 13th place with a 2-over 282 (68-74-71-69). His 2-under included three birdies and 14 pars. He had back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17 and added one more on 4.
- Sophomore Dylan Menante (Carlsbad, Calif./Sage Creek HS) tied for 17th at 283 (70-74-72-67). He got off to a blistering start, with five birdies on the first six holes. He ran into some trouble at the turn to drop back to 1-under, but birdied 3 and 4 and then finished with five straight pars for a round of 3-under.
- Senior Clay Feagler (Laguna Niguel, Calif./Dana Hills HS) tied for 22nd at 284 (72-71-73-68). His 2-under round featured four birdies.
- Senior Joey Vrzich (El Cajon, Calif./Christian HS/Nevada) also tied for 22nd at 284 (69-69-73-73). He posted three birdies on Monday. Vrzich had a team-high 16 birdies for the tournament.
- Junior Joe Highsmith (Lakewood, Wash./Bellarmine Prep) came in as a second-round substitute and shot 72-78-67 the past three days. His 3-under today included an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole and three birdies. Highsmith and Menante's 67 today were the Waves' best rounds of the tournament.
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Pepperdine Coach Michael Beard said: "We're super thrilled for the guys. We're just so pleased with how they played and how they kept it together mentally. That was something we talked about last night. They weren't wrapped up in the score, they were just going to do their job, and each guy did that today. It does start over tomorrow, we're starting at zero, but I've got to think our guys will feel good about how they approached today and how they played the course, and I don't see that hurting one bit."
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THE NUMBERS
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Team Scores (top eight advance): 1. Arizona State 1,117; 2. Oklahoma State 1,120; 3. Pepperdine 1,125; 4. Oklahoma 1,130; 5. Illinois 1,134; 6. Florida State 1,136; 7. Vanderbilt 1,144; 8. North Carolina 1,145.
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Team Scores (seven teams cut): T9. Louisville 1,152; T9. Sam Houston State 1,152; T11. Arkansas 1,153; T11. Texas Tech 1,153; T13. Clemson 1,156; T13. Wake Forest 1,156; 15. Georgia Tech 1,169.
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Top Individuals: 1. Turk Pettit (Clemson) 273; 2. Bo Jin (Oklahoma State) 274; 3. Ryggs Johnston (Arizona State) 275; 4. Michael Feagles (Illinois) 276; 5. John Pak (Florida State) 277.
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VIDEO | #NCAAGolf Round 4 highlights!#WavesUp pic.twitter.com/RG3B6OlZVg
— Pepperdine Men's Golf (@PeppGolf) June 1, 2021
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