SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The Pepperdine men's golf team impressed with a 22-under 328 in the second round of the 76
th Western Intercollegiate on Tuesday, shattering North Carolina's previous record of 14-under 336 from 2018, to leap into first-place.
Sam Choi shot 9-under in the first two rounds to tie for first heading into the third and final round tomorrow as well.
The Waves' 36-hole score of 673 (-27) at the par-70, 6,514 Pasatiempo Golf Club is also a new Western Intercollegiate record. Pepperdine has four players in the top-15 and all of them have shot under par in both rounds, as well as three in the top-eight. For the round today, all six of the Waves in the lineup shot under par.
In addition to Choi,
Derek Hitchner is in third-place and
Luke Gifford is tied for eighth.
Roberto Nieves tied the tournament 18-hole record as well, with a 63 (-7), a feat which had been accomplished twice before – once by Pepperdine alumnus Jason Allred in 2000 and again by John Streibich in 2007.
Heading into the third and final round tomorrow, the Waves are 14-strokes ahead of #22 Oregon in second and 19-strokes ahead of WCC opponent BYU in third. Pepperdine and BYU are the only two schools that shot under par today.
PLAYER SCORES
- Graduate Sam Choi (Anaheim, Calif./New Mexico) is tied for first with a two-round score of 131 (66-65). He has marked 10 birdies and one eagle so far in the tournament. Six of those birdies came in today's second round and Choi only bogeyed once as well.
- Graduate Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) is in third after two rounds, having posted a score of 132 (68-64). He tallied 11 birdies so far this tournament, including seven in the second round, helping him to a 6-under 64, which is his lowest round of the season.
- Graduate Luke Gifford (Boca Raton, Fla./South Florida) is tied for eighth with a score of 136 (69-67). He has put up 11 birdies as well, including six on the front nine today.
- Senior William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) is tied for 13th with a two-round score of 138 (69-69). He has tabbed five birdies and an eagle so far in the tournament.
- Graduate Roberto Nieves (Miami, Fla./Delaware) rallied back from a first-round score of 77 to shoot his 7-under 63 in the second round today, a career-low score for him during his time at Pepperdine. In the round today, he posted eight birdies and only one bogey.
- Sophomore Ian Maspat (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch HS) is tied for 33rd with a score of 142 (73-69). He put in five birdies in the second round, on top of his five from the first round.
- Competing as an individual, freshman Brady Siravo (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit HS) is tied for 28th with a score of 141 (71-70). He has marked eight birdies, with three in the second round.
THE NUMBERS
Team Scores: 1. Pepperdine 673; 2. Oregon 687; 3. BYU 692; 4. California 696; 5. Stanford 698; 6. UNLV 709; 7. Colorado State 711; T8. San Diego State 712; T8. Arizona 712; T10. USC 715; T10. San Jose State 715; 12. Hawai'i 717; 13. UC Irvine 718; 14. Washington 721.
Top Individuals: T1. Sam Choi (Pepperdine) 131; T1. Owen Avrit (Oregon) 131;
3. Derek Hitchner (Pepperdine) 132; T4. Caden Fioroni (UNLV) 134; T4. Keanu Akina (BYU) 134; T6. Yuki Moriyama (UNLV) 135; T6. Darien Zhao (UCI) 135;
T8. Luke Gifford (Pepperdine 136; T8. Sampson Zheng (Cal) 136.
UP NEXT
Tomorrow, the Waves will play the third and final round of the Western Intercollegiate paired with Oregon and BYU. Pepperdine will tee off on the first hole beginning at 9:09 a.m. Live Golf Channel coverage will run from 1-4 p.m.
