By Lindsey Besecker
Assistant Sports Editor
Senior Jason Allred placed third in the Taylor Made Waikoloa (Hawaii) Intercollegiate Tournament last weekend as the Pepperdine men’s golf team finished in 11th place overall. The team is now faced with the task of preparing for the USC Southwestern Invitational.
The USC Invitational will be held at the North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village. The course is where the Waves practice twice a week, so the tournament should not provide unexpected challenges. The tournament is March 4-5.
“We are excited about it,” Allred said. “We definitely feel like we have a good chance at it. Hopefully we will all click.”
In the upcoming weeks, the Waves will tune their skills in order to perform their best at the upcoming tournament.
Last weekend, the Waves proved once again that they are tough competition. In the Taylor Made tournament, Pepperdine tied for 11th place with Stanford and Texas Christian University.
“We didn’t live up to our expectations,” senior Michael Beard said. “We felt like we could have done a lot better. The wind was a huge factor in Hawaii. We had to adjust to that. The greens were tricky and it took us awhile to figure them out.
“We never seem to finish well at Hawaii, but we’re not going to be down on it too much. Next week we play at our home course. We have to move on.”
The Waves were in fourth place after the first round, finishing the day with a 287. They finished the second day in 12th place, having shot a 297.
In the final round, Pepperdine shot 303, bringing its three-round total to 887. Georgia Tech finished first with a total score of 860. Oklahoma finished second with 868, and Arkansas, Fresno State and Nevada tied for third at 875.
Georgia Tech’s Troy Matteson finished first to claim the individual title with an overall score of 210. Fresno State’s Nick Watney placed second with 211. Allred followed with a three-under par 213. Allred never fell below a fifth-place standing. He finished three shots behind Matteson.
Allred shot 69-72-72 rounds during the 54-hole tournament. Beard tied for 37th with 222, six-over par. Sophomore Randy Creighton tied for 73rd with 228. Freshman Brian O’Flaherty and junior Brandon White both shot 233 overall, tying for 102nd place.
“That’s one of the bigger tournaments of the year,” Allred said. “We had high hopes. It’s good to come out of a big tournament like that.”
The Waves will have a short break before starting tournament play again. The team has four more tournaments before WCC playoffs begin.
After the USC tournament, Pepperdine will play in the Morris Williams Intercollegiate, held March 25-26 at the Austin Country Club in Austin, Texas.
From there, the Waves will play in the Border Olympics April 5-6 at the Laredo Country Club in Laredo, Texas.
The WCC playoffs are scheduled for April 15-16 in Fresno.
The NCAA West Regional Championships will be held May 16-18 at University Golf Course in Albuquerque, N.M.
After that, The Waves will play in the NCAA Championships May 29-June 1. The Championships will be held at The Scarlet Course in Columbus, Ohio.
“We don’t do much to prepare for the WCC,” Beard said. “In these next ones, there will be nine of the top 20 teams in the country. (The USC tournament) is a big one for us. We are getting ready for regionals but the ones that really count are in the end of May.”
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Photo by Jennifer Flannery
CONCENTRATION: Sophomore Randy Creighton focuses during a recent Waves practice on the putting greens. The Waves will participate in the USC Southwestern Invitational March 4-5.
February 21, 2002