Pepperdine University
Fighting Illini Collegiate
Men's Golf Continues Fall at OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational
9/13/2023 2:33:00 PM | Men's Golf
MALIBU, Calif. — The Pepperdine men's golf team will continue on with the fall campaign this week, heading to Olympia Fields, Ill. for the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational.
EVENT INFO — The tournament will be held at the par-70, 7.310-yard North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill. There will be a single round each day between Friday and Sunday (Sept. 15-17). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat. Tee times begin at 6 a.m. PT for the first and second rounds and 5:30 a.m. PT for the third round.
The tournament is in its 17th season this year. OFCC has played host to the U.S. Amateur (2015), two U.S. Opens (1928, 2003), two PGA Championships (1925, 1961), a U.S. Senior Open (1997), plus five Western Opens (1920, 1927, 1933, 1968, 1971) and the BMW Championship (2020, 2023).
WAVES X OFCC/FIGHTING ILLINI INVITATIONAL — This will be the fourth time the Waves have competed at this specific event all-time, having finished third in 2019, tied for eighth in 2021 and 13th last season. The highest any Wave has finished has been third by William Mouw in 2019.
FIELD — The field includes #1 North Carolina, #2 Arizona State, #4 Georgia Tech, #5 Florida State, #7 Stanford, #8 Florida, #9 Illinois, #11 Texas, #13 Alabama, #15 Pepperdine, #16 Oklahoma State, #19 Arizona, Baylor (RV), Purdue (RV) and Michigan State.
Fourteen of the 15 teams competing in the tournament this year are ranked or receiving votes in the first GCAA Coaches Poll of the season and each of the last five programs to win the NCAA Championship will be represented: Florida (2023), Texas (2022), Pepperdine (2021), Stanford (2019) and Oklahoma State (2018). All 15 programs in the field competed in the 2023 NCAA Regionals and the field includes seven of the eight teams that made up match play at the 2023 NCAA Championships: quarterfinalists Arizona State, Illinois and Pepperdine, semifinalists Florida State and North Carolina and finalists Florida and Georgia Tech.
PEPPERDINE LINEUP — Pepperdine's lineup consists of sophomore Joshua Koo (Cerritos, Calif./Cerritos HS/Washington), freshman William Walsh (San Mateo, Calif./Juniper Serra HS), sophomores Mahanth Chirravuri (Chandler, Ariz./Hamilton HS/USC) and Brady Siravo (Sacramento, Calif./Jesuit HS) and freshman Kristoffer Kuvaas (Houston, Texas/The Village School).
LAST WEEK AT SAHALEE — The Waves competed in the first tournament of the season late last week with the amateur-turned-collegiate Sahalee Players Championship. Pepperdine finished in 11th place with a score of 911 (291-311-309). Joshua Koo and William Walsh led the team - Koo with a 225 (71-79-75) to tie for 34th and Walsh with a 229 (73-78-78) to tie for 47th.
RANKINGS — In the preseason rankings, Pepperdine is ranked #15 in the Bushnell/Golfweek coaches poll.
Players Mentioned
