SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – After posting the best NCAA Championship round ever played at Grayhawk Golf Club, an 11-under 269, the Pepperdine men's golf team jumped up three spots to second place heading into the final round of cuts tomorrow.
Seven teams shot below par today, though the Waves outshot the second-best team by five strokes. It's the first time ever any team has posted a sub-270 round at Grayhawk and the 11-under surpasses the previous Pepperdine men's golf program record for an 18-hole low at an NCAA Championships by two strokes.Â
Derek Hitchner highlighted the day for the Waves, rallying from a pair of 73's in the first two rounds to fire off 5-under 65 today – leading all players for the best round of the day. His score tied for second in the Pepperdine record books for lowest 18-hole score at an NCAA Championships. Â
Luke Gifford and
Sam Choi marked a pair of 3-under 67's to help the cause as well. All three Waves are in the top-20 out of 151 players that saw action in the first three rounds.
The Waves easily made the 15-team cut by a 29-stroke margin. On Monday, the Waves will need to keep a top-eight standing to advance to match play and Pepperdine will start the final round of stroke play 16 shots ahead of ninth place. Three teams are below par heading into the final cut day, with Illinois owning a three-stroke lead over the Waves. The Waves lead Florida by two shots, North Carolina by four and Georgia Tech by five, but they have a solid lead over the other teams, including Stanford in sixth place by 13 strokes. Â
The two-time national champions have advanced to the NCAA finals for the fourth-consecutive time and for the 13
th time overall. Pepperdine has advanced to match play (a format that began in 2009) twice previously, the first the same year the program won its second NCAA Championship crown in 2021, and then again last year.Â
PLAYER SCORES
- Graduate Luke Gifford (Boca Raton, Fla./South Florida) has played consistently all week thus far, marking a 3-under 67 in the third round today to collect a score of 208 (70-71-67) and sit tied for eighth heading into the final round of stroke play. He amassed six birdies in the round, starting the day with four birdies on a flawless first 12 holes. He has put up 10 birdies in the tournament so far.
- Graduate Sam Choi (Anaheim, Calif./New Mexico) is tied for 13th after tabbing a three-round score of 209 (70-72-67). His 3-under 67 in the round today was fueled by five birdies, including four on an untarnished back nine. He has collected 10 birdies so far this week.
- Graduate Derek Hitchner (Minneapolis, Minn./The Blake School) is tied for 19th with a 211 (73-73-65). He has totaled the second highest number of birdies of anyone competing in the tournament with 17, including six today. He put up two in his first eight holes before bogeying the 18th for his first and only of the day. He then marked four, including three-straight on holes four through six, and another on the eighth for his impressive 5-under today.
- Senior William Mouw (Chino, Calif./Ontario Christian HS) is tied for 32nd with a three-day score of 214 (73-71-70). He had his best round of the tournament today, finishing even par and has tallied seven birdies so far including two in the third round.
- Graduate Roberto Nieves (Miami, Fla./Delaware) is tied for 44th with a score of 215 (68-75-72). He has amassed nine birdies in the last three rounds, including three today.
UP NEXT:
The Waves will be paired with Illinois and Florida for the final round of stroke play, beginning the day on the first tee at 11:50 a.m. Live coverage of the round will air on Golf Channel from 2-6 p.m. on Monday, and there will be a one-hour segment on College Central from 1-5 p.m.
QUOTABLE:Â
THE NUMBERS
Team Scores (advancing teams):Â 1. Illinois 834;
2. Pepperdine 837; 3. Florida 839; 4. North Carolina 841; 5. Georgia Tech 842; 6. Stanford 850; 7. Arizona State 851; T8. Florida State 853; T8. Vanderbilt 853; 10. Virginia 854; 11. Auburn 856; 12. Texas A&M 857; 13. Alabama 861; 14. Georgia 864; T15. Ohio State 866; T15. Texas Tech 866.
 Ohio State and Texas Tech will play in a playoff for the final fourth round spot on Monday at 8 a.m.
Team Scores (non-advancing teams):Â 17. Oklahoma 867; 18. Arkansas 870; 19. Texas 872; 20. San Francisco 873; 21. Colorado 874; 22. Duke 878; T23. Chattanooga 879; T23. BYU 879; T25. New Mexico 880; T25. Mississippi Stat4e 880; 27. Oregon 882; 28. Colorado State 885; 29. East Tennessee State 886; 30. Baylor 893.
Top Individuals:Â 1. Ross Steelman (Georgia Tech) 201; T2. Neal Shipley (Ohio State) 205; T2.
Dylan Menante (North Carolina) 205; T4. Barclay Brown (Stanford) 206; T4. Fred Biondi (Florida) 206; T4. A. Dumont de Chassar (Illinois) 206; 7. Jackson Buchanan (Illinois) 207;
T8. Luke Gifford (Pepperdine) 208; T8. Nick Dunlap (Alabama) 208; T8. Tommy Kuhl (Illinois) 208; T8. Ben James (Virginia) 208; T8. Daniel Rodriguez (Texas A&M) 208.
