DEREK HITCHNER CAREER STATS
CAREER: Through his five seasons, has a scoring average of 71.49, #6 all-time in the Pepperdine record books ... Appeared in 48 tournaments and 138 rounds ... Had 16 top-10 and 25 top-20 showings … Has posted 60 below-par rounds which also ranked #6 all-time at Pepperdine after the 2023 campaign.
PEPPERDINE 2022-23: Earned
GCAA/PING All-American second team and
Golfweek All-American second team honors… Ranked #14 by Golfweek/Sagarin and on the PGA Tour University rankings, and #18 by Golfstat … Awarded
GCAA/PING All-West Region … A
WCC Co-Player of the Year and
All-WCC first team … Became the 17
th student-athlete at Pepperdine all-time to earn
CSC Academic All-American honors with a second team nod … Amassed a 70.74 scoring average … Played in all 13 events and 38 rounds, finishing in the top-10 five times and top-20 eight times … Charted 17 below par rounds … Won his first collegiate tournament at the esteemed Western Intercollegiate (68-64-71=203) … Finished tied for fifth at The Prestige (73-69-69=211) … Shot 6-under 64 at the Western Intercollegiate, 5-under 66 at the Valspar Collegiate and 4-under 68 at GC of Georgia for his round-highs … Tabbed to
WCC All-Academic Team … Selected to U.S. Arnold Palmer Cup Team (and led Americans to victory in June) … Became the first Wave in program history to make the semifinals of the U.S. Amateur in August … Was on the
Hogan Award watch list … Awarded
CSC Academic All-District first team … Earned
WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll ‘silver’ honors … A
Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete.
PEPPERDINE 2021-22: Received
All-American honorable mention status from Golfweek ... Ranked #48 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #61 by Golfstat ... Also made
GCAA/PING All-West Region and the
All-WCC first team ... Finished second on the team with a 71.34 scoring average ... Played in all 41 rounds ... Recorded 20 below-par rounds, tied for fourth on Pepperdine’s single-season list ... Had four top-10 and seven top-20 finishes ... Tied for fourth at the Southwestern Invitational with a 5-under 211 (71-70-70) ... Tied for seventh at the Western Intercollegiate (73-74-67=214) ... Best 54-hole score was 8-under at the Southern Highlands Collegiate (67-74-67), good for a tie for 10th ... Tied for 15th at the WCC Championships with a 1-under 215 (71-74-70) ... Tied for 10th at the NCAA Bryan Regional with a 2-under 214 (67-72-75) ... Tied for 25th at the NCAA Championships (76-67-71-74=288) ... Had 5-under rounds three times ... A
GCAA All-American Scholar ... Made the
WCC All-Academic first team ... Earned
WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll “gold” honors ... A
Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete.
PEPPERDINE 2020-21: Ranked #85 by Golfweek/Sagarin as a junior ... Had a 71.20 stroke average in eight tournaments and 20 rounds ... Had four top-10 showings and 12 below-par rounds ... Tied atop the leaderboard at The Prestige’s individual event with a 12-under 204 (65-69-70), but settled for second after falling to Colorado State’s A.J. Ott in a playoff ... Tied for fourth at the Western Intercollegiate with a 2-under 208 (69-71-68) ... Best round of the season was a 7-under 65 at The Prestige’s individual tournament ... Went 2-0 in match play at the East Lake Cup ... A
GCAA All-American Scholar ... Made
WCC All-Academic honorable mention ... Earned
WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll “gold” honors ... A
Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete.
PEPPERDINE 2019-20: Posted a 71.48 scoring average as a sophomore ... Ranked #133 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #183 by Golfstat ... Played in seven tournaments and 21 rounds ... Had two top-10 efforts, four top-20 results and 10 below-par rounds ... Took second place at the Prestige’s individual tournament, firing a 14-under 202 (70-63-69) ... His 9-under 63 in the second round tied the second-best single-round score in program history ... Tied for third at the Mea Lanakila Individual event with a 5-under 211 (72-70-69) ... Went under par all three rounds at the Bill Cullum Invitational and tied for 12th with a 5-under 211 (70-70-71) ... Season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic ... A
GCAA All-American Scholar ... Made the
WCC All-Academic first team ... Earned
WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll “gold” honors ... A
Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete.
PEPPERDINE 2018-19: Appeared at six tournaments and played 18 rounds as a freshman ... Had a 73.78 scoring average ... Best finish was a tie for 19th at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate (74-71-72=217) in his college debut ... Best round was a 1-under 71 at that event ... Earned
WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll “silver” honors ... A
Pepperdine Scholar-Athlete.
AMATEUR/JUNIOR GOLF: Played in the 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022 U.S. Amateur (making the semifinals in 2022, matching the best-ever finish by a Wave) ... Named the 2021 Minnesota Golf Association Player of the Year ... Won both the Trans-Mississippi Championship and the Minnesota Amateur Championship in summer 2021 ... A 2017 Rolex Junior All-American honorable mention selection ... Won the 2017 Gary Woodland Under Armour AJGA Championship, one of six top 10 showings at AJGA events ... Placed fifth at the 2018 PING Heather Farr and sixth at the 2017 Western Junior ... Was the 2017 Minnesota Golf Association Junior Boys Player of the Year ... Ranked as high as 23rd on the Junior Golf Scoreboard and 29th by AJGA/Polo Golf.
HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from The Blake School, located in Minneapolis, Minn., in 2018 ... Played six years of varsity golf ... Was the 2016 Minnesota AA state champion, setting a state record with a score of 10-under-par ... Finished second as a senior and fifth as a junior, among four top-10 finishes ... Won Sectionals each of his final three years ... Part of three consecutive Minnesota state championship teams, and five Sectional championships ... Earned Dean’s Recognition, AP Scholar with Distinction status and was on the honor roll.
PERSONAL: Graduated in 2022 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and is now pursuing a master’s degree in American studies ... Born in Summit, N.J. ... Son of Susan and Douglas Hitchner ... His father played soccer at Bucknell ... Has one brother, Zach ... Helped raise thousands of dollars for the Children’s Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota through the AJGA Leadership Links project ... Chose to attend Pepperdine because it “fits the bill in every way: a great golf program with fantastic coaches, an amazing location and strong academics.”
FAVORITES: Enjoys ping-pong, chess, reading, fly-fishing and the outdoors ... Favorites include Si Woo Kim (pro golfer), Pebble Beach (golf course), King Lear (book), Lone Survivor (movie), Game of Thrones (TV show), Zac Brown Band (musical artist), spaghetti (food) and basketball (sport other than golf) ... Favorite things about golf are “being outside and all the life lessons it has taught: perseverance, hard work, determination, resilience, etc. I also love to compete in tournaments around the country.”
