MALIBU, Calif. — The #6 Pepperdine men's golf team will begin the push for a third NCAA Championship title on Monday, as the Waves are the #1 seed at the upcoming NCAA Regional in Morgan Hill, Calif. 
 
EVENT INFO — The NCAA Morgan Hill Regional will be held at The Institute Golf Club, a par-72, 7,561-yard ultra-private club in Morgan Hill, California.  There will be a single round of golf each day between Monday and Wednesday (May 16-18).  Live scoring will be available through Golfstat.
 
On Monday, the Waves will be paired with Florida State and Mississippi State and they will start on the first tee at 7:0 a.m. PT.
 
The top five teams and the low individual on a non-advancing team will qualify for the NCAA finals, which are May 26-31 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
 
FIELD — In addition to #6 Pepperdine as the top-seeded team, the other 12 teams competing at the regional in order of seeding are: Florida State, Mississippi State, Arizona, Louisville, Baylor, Missouri, BYU, NC State, California, Charlotte, Grand Canyon and Northern Colorado.
 
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — The lineups and full pairings can be found on Golfstat when available.
 
Of the potential Waves' lineup, William Mouw has played in two NCAA Tournaments and Derek Hitchner made his debut last year.  Luke Gifford played in three regionals and made one finals appearance with South Florida, Sam Choi has seen action in three regionals while at New Mexico and Roberto Nieves competed in a regional last season with Delaware.  Ian Maspat traveled as the Waves alternate last season and it would be Brady Siravo's first NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
EVENT HISTORY — Pepperdine is making its eighth-consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and the 27th all-time.  This is the second time the Waves have ever been the top seed at an NCAA Regional, with the first having been at last season's NCAA Bryan Regional.  Prior to that, Pepperdine had earned the #2 seed in 2021 and the #3 seed in 2019.  The Waves have made it to the NCAA finals 12 times, but are looking to qualify for four-straight for the first time in program history. 
 
The Waves won their first national championships in 1997 at Conway Farms in Lake Forest, Illinois, and then won again in 2021 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Those are two of the program's top-10 finishes at nationals.
 
Pepperdine's best-ever NCAA Regional finish was second in 2022 in Bryan, Texas.  Waves have won medalist honors at NCAA Regionals three times: current head coach Michael Beard in 2000, Josh Anderson in 2012 and then last season in 2022 when Joe Highsmith won.
 
RANKINGS — The Waves are currently #6 by Golfstat, #8 in the Bushnell/Golfweek coaches poll and #11 by Golfweek/Sagarin.
 
Golfweek/Sagarin individual rankings: Hitchner #16, Mouw #23, Choi #54.
 
Golfstat individual rankings: Mouw #20, Hitchner #23, Choi #4, Gifford #150.
 
PGA Tour University rankings: Mouw #6, Hitchner #17, Choi #18, Gifford #66, Nieves #96.
 
World Amateur Golf Rankings: Mouw #8, Hitchner #29 and Choi #42.
 
WCC ACCLAIM — Derek Hitchner and William Mouw garnered co-WCC Player of the Year recognition this season.  Hitchner and Mouw, along with Sam Choi and Luke Gifford also earned spots on the All-WCC first team.
 
SPRING HIGHLIGHTS — Pepperdine has won two tournaments this spring - The Prestige (Feb. 20-22) and Western Intercollegiate (April 10-12).  The Waves have finished in the top-five in six of the seven tournaments this spring, including second-place finishes at the Southwestern Invitational (Jan. 30-Feb. 1), NIT (March 17-18) and third-place at Southern Highlands Collegiate (Feb. 26-28) in addition to the first-place results.  The Waves also finished third at the West Coast Conference Championships (April 27-29).
 
Derek Hitchner won his first collegiate tournament and the Western Intercollegiate, at it was the first Waves individual win of the season as well.  In five of the six tournaments, a Pepperdine golfer has finished in the top-five.  Along with Hitchner's top finish, he's led the Waves in two other tournaments, tying for ninth at the Southwestern and 14th at the Valspar.  William Mouw has finished in the top-five to lead the Waves in three tournaments as well with a second-place finish at The Prestige, third at the NIT and he tied for fifth at Southern Highlands.  Mouw leads the Waves with a 70.50 scoring average, which ranks fourth in the Pepperdine golf record books, while Hitchner has a 70.64 scoring average which ranks sixth.  Mouw and Sam Choi, who has a 70.89 scoring average to rank 10th, have each finished in the top-20 in eight tournaments this season.  Mouw and Hitchner have finished in the top-10 five times, while Choi has achieved the feat in three tournaments.
 
RECORDS WATCH — William Mouw ranks #2 all-time in scoring average (70.94), #4 in below-par rounds (65) and is tied for 6th in career top-10 finishes (19) and eighth in top-20 finishes (28) ... Derek Hitchner is #6 all-time in scoring average (71.49) and #7 below-par round (58).