MALIBU, Calif. – Derek Hitchner shot a 3-under 69 to lead the Pepperdine men's golf team at the Waves' own Southwestern Invitational on Monday, finishing tied-eighth.
 
Pepperdine finished tied-sixth out of the 12 teams at the par-72 North Ranch Country Club with a score of 290.  They'll head into the second round two-shy of fourth, six away from third and 15- or 20-back of second and first respectively.
 
Pepperdine has hosted or co-hosted the tournament since 2013, taking over sole hosting duties in 2016.  The Waves have earned three victories (2006, 2017, 2020).
 
PLAYER SCORES

• Graduate Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) led the Waves with his 3-under round after posting three birdies and not a single bogey on the day.
• Senior William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) finished tied for 21^st with an even 72 on the day.  He birdied three holes throughout the day, all in the last nine.
• Graduate Sam Choi (Anaheim, Calif./New Mexico) finished with 74 for a 2-over performance, marking two birdies.
• Graduate Luke Gifford (Boca Raton, Fla./South Florida) and sophomore Ian Maspat (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch HS) each tied for 40th place with 75's. They each birdied twice, one in the front nine and one on the back. 

UP NEXT
 
The second round of stroke play will continue tomorrow and the Waves will once again be paired with #20 Texas, #32 Georgia and USC.  The Longhorns are currently in the lead after an 18-under outing on day one (270), while Georgia is tied-fourth (E/288) and USC is 12^th (+12/300). 
 
They'll start on the first tee beginning at 8 a.m. PT.  Competing as individuals, graduate Roberto Nieves (Miami, Fla./Delaware) and freshman Brady Siravo (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit HS) will tee off with their groups at 7:32 and 7:46 a.m. respectively.
 
Golf Channel will once again air live coverage from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. PT.
 
THE NUMBERS
 
Team Scores: 1. Texas 270; 2. Arizona State 275; 3. Oregon 284; T4. Georgia 288; T4. San Diego State 288; T6. Pepperdine 290; T6. Washington 290; 8. Wake Forest 292; 9. UCLA 295; 10. UNLV 297; 11. San Jose State 298; 12. USC 300.
 
Top Individuals: 1. Jacob Sosa (Texas) 61; 2. Luke Potter (Arizona State) 65; T3. Shea Lague (San Diego State) 67; T3 Keaton Vo (Texas) 67; T3. Michael Mjaaseth (Arizona State) 67; T6. Christiaan Maas (Texas) 68; T6. Chuan-Tai Lin (Washington) 68; T8. Derek Hitchner (Pepperdine) 69; T8. Greyson Leach (Oregon) 69.