Pepperdine’s men golf team traveled all the way to Albuquerque New Mexico on Sept. 11 and 12 for the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate tournament. The Waves ended the weekend in a tie for fifth place out of 17 schools. Sophomore Josh Anderson led the team in the tournament and individually finished in ninth place out of 104 golfers.
“Anytime you finish in the top 10 it has been a good week no matter what said Anderson, so 5th place is a great week.”
Finishing in fifth may seem like an accomplishment but the men’s golf team sees room for improvement.
“It was not the start we wanted said senior Shane Manson. But nevertheless it was a solid start and there is room for improvement.”
Tied in fifth place with the defending champion Texas A&M the Waves held their own out on the green and ended with a 5-over 869. Instead of playing the usual 35 holes the Waves played only to the 32nd hole because of the lightning-delay and weather interruption that ended the second round on the first day. Even though it was not a complete round Pepperdine finished with an even-par 288. The team then finished the third and final round on Saturday with a 6-over 294 giving them their tournament total of 5-over 869.
“We handled the lightning pretty well said Mason. Our experience helped us deal with that disruption.”
In his individual game Anderson shot a pair of even-par 72s in the second round before ending the tournament with a 3-under 69. He charged in his final round by compiling six birdies including four birdies and no bogeys in his finishing ten holes. Overall Anderson’s performance was at its highest peak and good enough to tie him for ninth place with a 3-under 213.
Mason tied for 21st place with Alex Kang from San Diego State and ended with a 2-over 218. During the third round he had one birdie and one bogey and turned in his scorecard with an even-par 72.
Both junior Andrew Putnam and senior Carl Smith tied for 24th place. Putnam with a 4-over 220 was at a 1-under entering the final round but shot a 77 which is 5-over. Smith shot a 3-under 69 in the second round with a total of six birdies and finished off with a 75.
Rounding out the Pepperdine squad junior Austyn Karle took 55th place with a 9-over 225.
The Waves entered the clubhouse with a decent performance in their first tournament. Pepperdine men’s golf team showed poise on the course and will continue to improve for the rest of the season according to Mason.
“Our team needs to get more consistent as the year goes on so that we can have better finishes said Anderson. And we need to put 4 quality scores every round no matter what.”
Next up for the Waves is a tournament at the Rees Jones Intercollegiate hosted by Michigan State in Daufuskie Island South Carolina Oct. 5 and 6.
“A cross-country trip is challenging said Mason, but we are all pumped to travel.”
