Waves Set to Host Southwestern Invitational

MALIBU, Calif. — The #14 Pepperdine men's golf team begins the spring season with its own Southwestern Invitational presented by ZipRecruiter. The three-day event will be televised by the Golf Channel

EVENT INFO — The Southwestern Invitational will be held at the par-72, 7,017-yard North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif. There will be 18 holes of golf each day between Monday and Wednesday (Jan. 30-Feb. 1). Play is scheduled to begin at 7:32 a.m. PT each day. Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.

All three days, Golf Channel will air College Central from1-1:30 p.m. PT, followed by live coverage of the Southwestern from 1:30-4:30 p.m. PT.

This year's event is open to the public.

FIELD — In addition to Pepperdine, the 12-team field includes #4 Arizona State, #19 San Diego State, #20 Texas, Georgia, Oregon, San Jose State, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Wake Forest and Washington.

EVENT HISTORY — This is the 44th edition of the Southwestern Invitational. The tournament began in 1978 with USC as the host. The two schools co-hosted in 2013 and 2014, and then the Waves took over sole hosting duties in 2016. Arizona State has won it a record nine times. Pepperdine has three victories (2006, 2017, 2020). Sahith Theegala (2017, 2020) is one of three two-time indiviudal winners. Waves Michael Walton (1995) and Jason Gore (1997) were also victorious. Last season, the Waves took second place and graduate student Derek Hitchner tied for fourth.

PEPPERDINE LINEUP — Pepperdine's lineup for the Southwestern Invitational consists of graduate Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School), senior William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS), graduate Sam Choi (Anaheim, Calif./New Mexico), graduate Luke Gifford (Boca Raton, Fla./South Florida) and sophomore Ian Maspat (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch HS). Graduate Roberto Nieves (Miami, Fla./Delaware) and freshman Brady Siravo (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit HS) will play as individuals.

RANKINGS — The Waves are currently #14 by Golfstat, #16 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #15 in the Bushnell/Golfweek coaches poll.

Golfweek/Sagarin individual rankings: Hitchner #9, Mouw #48.

Golfstat individual rankings: Hitchner #29, Mouw #43.

PGA Tour University rankings: Mouw #5, Choi #16, Hitchner #23.

World Amateur Golf Rankings: Mouw #13, Hitchner #35, Choi #37.

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS — The Waves finished tied-second at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate tied-third at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational in October. William Mouw finished third and second respectively as an individual in the two tournaments. Pepperdine competed at the prestigious East Lake Cup as well, finishing fourth in stroke play. The Waves defeated Texas 4-1 before falling to 2022 NCAA Champions Arizona State by a narrow 3-2 margin.

HONORS — William Mouw and Derek Hitchner were recently named to the Ben Hogan Award watch list ... Mouw was named to Golfweek's preseason All-American first team and the Golf Channel's second team ... Hitchner was named to the preseason All-American third team by both the Golf Channel and Golfweek ... Hitchner was one of three nominees for the Ben Hogan Award's Player of the Month for August ... Hitchner is one of four college golfers who had been selected to play at the East West Matches at Maridoe Golf Club in November ... Hitchner, Mouw, Sam Choi and Ian Maspat were named preseason All-WCC.

RECORDS WATCH — William Mouw ranks #4 all-time in scoring average (71.05) and #7 in below-par rounds (53) ... Derek Hitchner is #8 all-time in scoring average (71.65) and #9 below-par round (48).

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Players Mentioned

Sam Choi

Luke Gifford

Derek Hitchner

Ian Maspat

William Mouw

Roberto Nieves

Brady Siravo

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