Joe Highsmith Career Statistics
CAREER: A two-time All-American ... Had the fifth-best scoring average (71.45) in program history at the end of his four years ... Played in 47 tournaments and 139 rounds ... Also finished fifth in below-par rounds (62), tied for fifth in wins (three), ninth in top-20 finishes (26) and tied for ninth in top-10 results (18).
PEPPERDINE 2021-22: For the second straight year, received
All-American honorable mention notice from both Golfweek and the GCAA/PING as a senior ... Ranked #47 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #97 by Golfstat ... Also made
GCAA/PING All-West Region and the
All-WCC first team ... Recorded a 71.51 scoring average and played in all 41 rounds ... Had six top-10 and seven top-20 finishes along with 17 below-par rounds ... Won a pair of tournaments ... Won the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate with a 19-under 197 (63-65-69) ... The 19-under was the third-best 54-hole score in program history, and the 9-under 63 in the first round tied for second ... Also won the NCAA Bryan Regional with a 6-under 210 (69-72-69) ... Tied for second at the Southern Highlands Collegiate with an 11-under 205 (68-72-65) ... Tied for 19th at the WCC Championships with an even-par 216 (72-75-69) ... Tied for 43rd at the NCAA Championships (71-76-70-75=292) ... Finished 10th in the PGA Tour University rankings ... Earned
WCC Commissioner’s Honor Roll “bronze” honors.
PEPPERDINE 2020-21: Earned
All-American honorable mention status from both Golfweek and the GCAA/PING as a junior ... Also received
GCAA/PING All-West Region and
All-WCC first team status ... Ranked #49 by Golfweek/Sagarin and #81 by Golfstat ... Had a 70.76 stroke average, #6 in Pepperdine single-season history ... Also tied for sixth on the list with seven top-10 finishes and tied for seven with 18 below-par rounds ... Had team highs of 13 tournaments and 37 rounds ... Went a perfect 3-0 in match play as the Waves won the national championship ... Show 72-78-67 in stroke play after coming on as a sub ... Won first college title at the Western Intercollegiate, shooting a 5-under 205 (72-66-67) and beating BYU’s Carson Lundell and San Diego State’s Puwit Anupansuebsai in a playoff ... Tied for third at the WCC Championships with a 10-under 206 (67-73-66) ... Tied for 39th at the NCAA Cle Elum Regional (68-75-77=220) ... Placed sixth at The Goodwin with a 6-under 204 (67-70-67) and tied for eighth at the Augusta Haskins Award Invitational with a 6-under 210 (73-70-67) ...
WCC Golfer of the Month for April ... Best rounds were a 6-under 64 at the Pasadera Collegiate Invitational and a 6-under 66 at the WCC Championships ... Went 2-0 in match play at the East Lake Cup to go a perfect 5-0 on the season.
PEPPERDINE 2019-20: Named to the
GCAA/PING All-West Region team as a sophomore ... Ranked #75 by Golfstat and #91 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Had a 71.33 scoring average (10th in program single-season history) in seven tournaments and 21 rounds ... Had four top-20 finishes and 11 below-par rounds ... Tied for eighth at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate with an 8-under 202 (70-65-67) ... Shot a 5-under 208 (70-68-70) at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational to tie for 20th ... Best round was a 5-under 65 in the second round at the Maui Jim ... Season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
PEPPERDINE 2018-19: Had one of the top debut seasons in program history, resulting in
WCC Freshman of the Year honors and a spot on the
All-WCC first team ... Ranked #99 nationally by Golfstat and #111 by Golfweek/Sagarin ... Scoring average of 72.08 was the second-best ever by a Pepperdine freshman, and was 15th on the overall single-season list ... On the other freshman records lists, finished tied for first in top-10 finishes (four), second in below-par rounds (16), tied for third in top-20 results (seven) and third in rounds played (40) ... Was in the lineup for all 13 tournaments ... Best finish was fourth at the NCAA Austin Regional with a 6-under 207 (68-70-69) ... Was Pepperdine’s best player in the NCAA postseason, leading the Waves at both the regional and at the NCAA Championships, where he tied for 24th (76-72-72-74=294) ... Had the best-ever finishes by a Pepperdine freshman at both events ... Tied for sixth at his first college event, the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate, with a 4-under 212 (71-68-73) ... Tied for eighth at both The Prestige (72-70-70=212) and the WCC Championships (73-71-70=214) ... Best round was a 6-under 65 in the first round of the Alister MacKenzie Invitational ... In the preseason, was ranked by Golfweek at #9 on its list of top incoming freshmen in the nation.
AMATEUR/JUNIOR GOLF: Played in the 2021 U.S. Open after winning a qualifier in Richland, Wash. ... Played in the 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 U.S. Amateur (made the round of 32 in 2021) ... Won the 2019 Sahalee Players Championship ... Reached the quarterfinals of the 2018 U.S. Junior Amateur, his fourth straight year in the event ... A 2017 Rolex Junior All-American first team selection ... Had three-top five finishes at AJGA Invitationals in 2017 ... A member of the victorious 2017 Junior Presidents Cup U.S. team ... Two-time Washington State Golf Association Junior Boys Player of the Year and the 2017 Pacific Northwest Golf Association Junior Boys Player of the Year ... Won the 2017 WSGA Men’s State Amateur, the youngest player ever to do so ... Won the 2016 AJGA Ryan Moore Open and the 2017 WJGA Players Open ... Rated by Golfweek as the nation’s #5 player at the time of his signing, and was #8 in the Rolex AJGA junior rankings ... Was ranked in the top 100 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings during his high school days.
HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from Bellarmine Preparatory School, located in Tacoma, Wash., in 2018 ... Won the 2017 WIAA 4A state championship after a pair of 67s ... Pepperdine teammate R.J. Manke was a high school teammate.
PERSONAL: Majoring in communication studies ... Born in Lakewood, Wash. ... Son of Chris and Anne Highsmith ... Has one sibling, Sam ... An uncle, Matt Highsmith, played golf at Washington ... Chose to attend Pepperdine because of “the great coaches and weather.”
FAVORITES: Plays the piano ... Lists his sports hero as Jordan Spieth ... Favorites include Tiger Woods (pro golfer), Augusta National (golf course), The Conjuring (movie), Stranger Things (TV show), Ed Sheeran (musical artist), pizza (food) and basketball (sport other than golf) ... Favorite thing about golf is “the feeling of a flush shot.”
