Pepperdine guard Houston Mallette has reportedly entered the NCAA transfer portal, among the first college basketball stars to do so.
One day after it was announced the Pepperdine Waves were firing longtime head coach Lorenzo Romar, star junior guard Houston Mallette reportedly entered the NCAA transfer portal to look for a new school to play out his final year of college basketball eligibility.
Mallette is one of many outstanding players to have played for Romar at Pepperdine – although the influx of talent did nothing to help the Waves in the win column: an unfortunate trend that followed Romar his entire career particularly while as the head coach of the Washington Huskies.
Mallette just wrapped the best season of his career in 2023-24, averaging a career-high 14.7 points along with 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists while shooting a blistering hot 41.5% from beyond the arc.
Mallette’s former teammate, Mike Mitchell Jr, transferred last offseason to Minnesota where he averaged 10.6 points and 2.7 assists while shooting an even 40% from three, so certainly a handful of Power-6 programs will take a look at Mallette and his sharp shooting ways this offseason.
Mallette initially committed to Penn State in 2020 before decommitting and enrolling at Pepperdine, and the 6’5 guard from Newport Beach also had interest from Washington State, James Madison, and Santa Barbara out of high school.
Additionally, programs like Washington, USC, San Diego State, and Colorado who are expected to lose multiple backcourt players after this season could show interest as well.
Pepperdine is on a roll that dates to April. The Waves have won five of their last six starts, with the latest victory coming in familiar territory.
Pepperdine is on a roll that dates to April. The Waves have won five of their last six starts, with the latest victory coming in familiar territory.
The Golfweek Red Sky Challenge is the team’s second start this fall and second win. In Pepperdine’s title defense at the scenic layout, nestled into the mountains at more than 8,000 feet in Wolcott, Colo., and its fifth victory here overall in the tournament’s 13-year history, the Waves were even par for 54 holes to edge New Mexico State by 10 shots.
“We love playing at beautiful Red Sky and are excited to start the season with two double-digit wins,” head coach Laurie Gibbs said.
Pepperdine’s core of Lion Higo, Kaleiya Romero, Lauren Gomez and Jeneath Wong all finished in the top 12 at Red Sky. KaYee Kwok brought in a T-32 finish. Familiarity is at work in many ways as Pepperdine, which was ranked No. 15 in Golfweek’s preseason rankings, continues to find its way to the top of leaderboards.
A year ago at Red Sky, Gibbs predicted that it could be an exciting year for the Waves. That was before Wong, a talented Australian player, joined the team. She finished in the top 10 four times in the spring.
After winning the West Coast Conference Championship and the NCAA San Antonio Regional, Pepperdine made national championship match play, losing a close quarterfinal match against top-seeded Stanford.
A year ago when Pepperdine won this tournament, the Waves went 18 under to do so. Only UCLA had ever gone lower in event history, reaching 32 under to win in 2018. Next year, the Golfweek Red Sky Challenge field will return to 20 teams, and with the .500 rule debuting in women’s golf, more top-25 teams could find their way to the mountains.
Red Sky is a tricky yet rewarding venue and bared its teeth this week with the help of slick, smooth greens and weather conditions.
“The course was in great shape and greens were rolling at 12.5,” Gibbs said. “The winds picked up mid-round today and hitting greens got to be challenging. Being above the hole on a downhill putt was difficult.”
The challenge makes Alison Gastelum, a New Mexico State senior, like Red Sky that much more. Gastelum won the individual title at 7 under after a final-round 68.
Alison Gastelum, New Mexico State (Golfweek photo)
“Just (where) it is and how it plays is definitely unique in comparison to a lot of other courses,” she said. “It was definitely more challenging this year than I remember too. The greens were fast, very, very fast, but the course was in great conditions too so it was just a matter of your short game to be up there and just making some putts, right?”
Gastelum did the work, making as many birdies – 13 – as any player in the field. Gastelum had competition for the top spot on the leaderboard throughout the day with Madison Holmes of Central Arkansas. Holmes made a hole-in-one on the par-3 ninth on her way to a closing 70, but Gastelum played the back nine in 2 under to overtake her by two shots.
The Golfweek Red Sky Challenge is Gastelum’s first college title. She called it a “dream come true.”
“Making this my first one at the course that I like, just with my teammates and everybody that was around me at this time,” she said.
New Mexico State has already had a busy fall, having traveled to the Golfweek Fall Challenge in Pawley’s Island, South Carolina, and the Badger Invitational in Madison, Wisconsin. Gastelum placed fifth on the team in each of those starts as she struggled with her swing and her mental game.
“This is a very challenging sport, especially mentally, and I know how it works,” she said. “I’ve been playing golf since I was 5 years old so I know how it works, I know that sometimes you can have really, really bad rounds and sometimes you can have probably the best rounds of your life.”
Gastelum concentrated on bringing the game she had to Red Sky and credits her win to a better mentality.
After all, it’s tough to be negative against such a beautiful backdrop.
Chris Zambri, a longtime college coach who’s currently the associate head coach at Pepperdine, will be the new National Development Team leader, the USGA announced Tuesday afternoon. As a volunteer assistant in 2021, Zambri helped the Waves win the 2021 national championship. He also was the head coach at USC for 14 years, leading the team to three Pac-12 titles and a runner-up finish at the 2015 NCAA Championship. Golf Channel first reported the hire Tuesday morning.
He begins Nov. 1.
“It’s the greatest opportunity of my lifetime,” Zambri told Golfweek. “It’s something I’m really excited about and ready to spend time with these athletes and prepare them to represent the United States.”
Zambri will be tasked with leading the overall direction of the U.S. National Development Team’s program as well as providing support and guidance to the elite golfers selected to represent their country in international competitions and as part of the national teams.
“Chris has had an illustrious coaching career and boasts a proven track record of nurturing talented young golfers, helping them develop and take the next steps in their careers,” Heather Daly-Donofrio, the USGA managing director of Player Relations and Development, said in a release. “Between his experience as a player and coach, coupled with his passion and leadership, we could not think of anyone better suited to help foster the next generation of elite American golfers.”
In his role, Zambri will oversee and lead the day-to-day coaching operations, including playing a key role in developing a network of qualified coaches at the regional and state levels to support the USNDP’s mission of identifying and developing American golf talent. Zambri will also work closely with Senior Player Development Advisor Dr. Beth Brown to create an elite golf program designed to expose athletes to the physical, technical and mental loads required to compete successfully at the highest levels of the sport.
Announced in February, the U.S. National Development Program is designed to ensure American golf is the global leader in the game by focusing on six key pillars: talent identification, access to competition, national teams, athlete resources, player development and relations and athlete financial support.
Last week, the USGA announced the three junior girls who would represent the United States at the World Junior Girls Championship in Canada next month.
Check out Golfweek’s college golf Coaches of the Year.
The 2022-23 college golf season is complete, which means it’s time for postseason awards.
A pair of veteran teams took home the trophies from Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona, where the championships were contested for a third and final time of a three-year deal. In the individual competitions, there were big come-from-behind victories on both sides, as well.
However, when it comes to the Coach of the Year conversation, there are two who stood out among the rest, and they’ve been selected as the Golfweek 2022-23 Coaches of the Year.
Golfweek selects men’s and women’s All-America teams and honorable mention selections, as well as Players of the Year and Coaches of the Year.
Here’s a look at Golfweek‘s 2022-23 Coaches of the Year and a look at past winners.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Luke Gifford thought his ball was going to sail past the hole.
A grad student at Pepperdine, Gifford had come to the par-4 15th hole off two straight birdies, including an uphill 30-footer on the 14th. His approach shot sailed right on the 15th, the pin left and tucked behind a menacing bunker, but he was just trying to lag a putt up close to the hole from 60 feet away and get out with a par.
He hit it, and Gifford instantly knew he put too much on it.
“I haven’t made a putt all week, have really struggled,” he said. “And that one was going to go a few feet by.”
That was, until his ball met a pebble.
There’s millions of pebbles scattered throughout Grayhawk Golf Club, site of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. It’s a desert course, so it’s no surprise when players or spectators have to empty their shoes after a round. But on the green?
Gifford’s ball hit the pebble about 10 feet away from the hole. It jumped up, killed the speed and went a bit to the right. It also went in the hole for his third straight birdie.
“This pebble is coming with me the rest of the tournament,” Gifford said with a smile. “It’s such a joke how it went in.”
The pebble that Luke Gifford’s ball hit on the 15th green. (Photo: Cameron Jourdan/Golfweek)
Gifford’s third straight birdie was the highlight of his round and a huge one for the Waves, which shot 11-under 269 on Sunday in the third round, setting a new record at Grayhawk for lowest round in an NCAA Championship. Pepperdine set the old record in 2021 with a 9-under 271 in the final round.
Gifford signed for a 3-under 67, his best round of the week. Derek Hitchner carded a 5-under 65. Sam Choi also shot 3 under, and William Mouw was at even-par.
Pepperdine, which won the championship in 2021 at Grayhawk and made the match play semifinals in 2022, moved up to second at 3 under and three strokes behind Illinois. More importantly, the Waves are well inside the 15-team cut and are in great position to make match play yet again.
“Guys played solid all the way around,” Pepperdine coach Michael Beard said. “We’ve got a great group of guys. Our youngest player is 22 that’s in our starting five right now. And with that comes experience.”
Only Hitchner and Mouw remain in the starting lineup from Pepperdine’s semifinalist team last year, but as Beard mentioned, there’s plenty of experience in the lineup.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on why his teams have been successful at Grayhawk. But the Waves have yet again put themselves in position to make match play, and a small pebble played a big part.
“It’s a combination of knowing this place and doing the prep work to make sure we can be successful,” Beard said.
Zhu is a former college golfer at Pepperdine with a champion tennis player for a father.
November 30, 2021, will be a day Collin Morikawa remembers for a long time.
The 24-year-old didn’t earn one of his five PGA Tour wins, four DP World Tour wins or two major championships on that day. Rather, it was the day she said, “yes.”
Morikawa got engaged to girlfriend Katherine Zhu, a former college golfer for Pepperdine, on Tuesday night, and took to social media to announce the news.
“11.30.2021 My love, forever,” wrote Morikawa, while Zhu shared, “A lifetime together forever.”
With a win at this week’s Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, Morikawa would become the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking. If so, he’d reach the mark in just his 61st start and be the second quickest to do so behind Hero host Tiger Woods, who reached No. 1 in just 21 starts.
Derek Hitchner is the latest Pepperdine player to find summer success.
An informal Derek Hitchner fan club ebbed and flowed at Windsong Farm Golf Club in Independence, Minnesota, over the past four days. At one point or another, 15 or 20 of the Minneapolis native’s friends and family members streamed through the fairways to cheer on their guy at the Trans-Mississippi Amateur.
On Friday, Hitchner, who just finished his junior season at Pepperdine, translated local knowledge and all that support into a massive comeback. He trailed Derek Busby by nine shots at the start of the final round, but after two playoff holes, was left standing with the trophy.
“It’s awesome from the standpoint of knowing I can actually get the job done when the situation calls for it,” he said.
Back in February, Hitchner lost a playoff for the title at the Prestige Individual. He remembers playing in one other playoff, when he was about 8 years old, but the details are foggy.
It’s not the Trans-Miss playoff so much as how he got in it that stands as the truly remarkable part of Hitchner’s week. Opening rounds of 70-71-69 on the par-71 layout left him within striking distance for the final day. In the final round, he made an initial bogey at No. 4, but had only two birdies the rest of the day – including one on the 18th. A closing 67 was enough to force two extra trips down the 18th with Busby, who closed with a 76, his highest round of the week by six shots.
The 37-year-old Busby is a former Louisiana Tech player who competes regularly on the amateur circuit, having already finished in the top 5 at the George C. Thomas Invitational (a mid-am event) and top 20 at the Maridoe Amateur in the past two weeks.
Busby couldn’t stop making bogeys on Friday, and Hitchner surged.
“I was striking it really nicely, I guess one of the things all week was I just couldn’t really get the ball to go in on the greens,” Hitchner said. “I just figured if I kept giving myself enough chances that hopefully I can make the round.
“I didn’t even really conceive of the possibility of winning because Derek was pretty far ahead. I just kind of went on a nice run on the back nine and just hit a lot of solid iron shots and I didn’t really need my putter to do a lot of work. I kind of took care of that with my iron play.”
Hitchner’s last college event was the Western Intercollegiate, where he finished fourth individually. He played to a 71.2 scoring average in his eight starts this season, but didn’t crack the NCAA championship lineup.
Derek Hitchner during the Trans-Miss Amateur. (Photo by Luke Hendry, Anera Sports)
It takes three days to drive from Malibu, California, to Minneapolis, and Hitchner was burning up the road at the start of June as his Pepperdine teammates were in Scottsdale, Arizona, claiming the NCAA title.
Pepperdine head coach Michael Beard carried nine men on the roster this year and 11 last season. Inner-team qualifying is as difficult as nearly anything the Waves see on the road but up and down the lineup, it pays big dividends.
“It’s invaluable,” Hitchner said. “I’m just so grateful to be around so many good players. They have forced me to improve in so many areas.”
Last month, Hitchner’s teammate Dylan Menante won the Northeast Amateur in Rhode Island. Asked how the team group chat might respond to his own win, Hitchner said there are a few such chats.
“I’m sure I’ll talk to them all at some point,” he said.
Hitchner likely won’t be the last Wave to pick up a title this summer. Two years ago – when the amateur circuit was unaffected by COVID-19 – Pepperdine players claimed the SCGA Amateur (Sahith Theegala), NCGA Amateur (Josh McCarthy), California Amateur (William Mouw), Sahalee Players (Joe Highsmith) and the Mexican International Amateur (R.J. Manke). In August, Pepperdine qualified six players for the U.S. Amateur.
Hitchner was one of those men at Pinehurst, and he had also played the 2017 U.S. Amateur at Riviera when he was just 17.
Since returning from Malibu this spring, Hitchner has finished in the top 20 at the Sunnehanna Amateur and competed in last week’s North & South Amateur. He plans to play in a few more local and state events to finish out the off-season.
Since he’s been at Pepperdine, Hitchner said each facet of his game has improved by a little every year. At Windsong Farm, his iron game carried him through. Confidence will now carry him forward.
Dylan Menante was still reeling from his Pepperdine team’s NCAA Championship victory last month. Now add a Northeast Am title.
Dylan Menante talks about one sensation more than any other in reliving his Pepperdine team’s recent national-title run: heart rate.
“I was so hyped – even after I lost my match I was so hyped to go watch all the guys,” Menante said of an NCAA high. “My heart was beating just like I was playing and it just meant so much in the time and the present.”
It can take awhile to come down from a supreme high like that, but Menante is already out of the clouds and with his feet firmly planted in…Rhode Island. The Carlsbad, California native had never been to the Ocean State before this week, but he’ll leave with some extra baggage. Menante won the prestigious Northeast Amateur on Sunday with a 9-under total that left him two shots ahead of Illinois player Jerry Ji.
“I was really comfortable today,” Menante said after a final-round 67 that kept him safely ahead of the field. “A lot of the other times I was playing, I was a little bit on edge or something like that, a little anxious. Today I felt pretty comfortable, knew where my game was.”
Menante, 20, isn’t sure he fully grasps all that Pepperdine’s national-championship win means just yet – the potential, the legacy. He’s trying not to get too far ahead of himself.
“I think I’m starting to get over it now,” he said after his Northeast win. “This win helped me keep my confidence at an all-time high.”
Menante isn’t a particularly long hitter and Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, Rhode Island, fit him nicely in that regard. Many of the bunkers – and the rough – didn’t particularly come into play.
“That was super nice,” he said. “I could do my own thing and not have to worry about it.”
His strength is in his short irons and short game. Menante also switched to a 33-inch Ping Tyne 4 putter a few weeks ago and is using a wrist-lock putting stroke. Another comfort at the Northeast? Having his dad Dean on the bag.
“In college we get our coaches, but nothing like having your dad – he’s my swing coach – on the bag,” Menante said.
In the second half of the college season, Menante knocked at the door plenty of times, finishing fourth at the Prestige, seventh at the Valspar Collegiate and second at the Augusta Haskins Invitational before winning the individual title at the West Coast Conference Championship.
Menante admits to feeling a bit of intimidation in the fall of 2019 when he joined the Pepperdine roster as a freshman. Looking around, he was surrounded by nothing but talent – not the least of which was Sahith Theegala, one of the best players in college golf who would eventually win the Haskins Award, college golf’s Heisman.
“All those guys on one team definitely pushes you to get better and I’m really competitive so it just driving my competitive nature to get better and want to be in the lineup,” he said.
Menante played seven times his freshman season, but often as an individual. As a sophomore, he played nearly double that and was Pepperdine’s low finisher four times. Menante finished 17th individually at the NCAA Championship, then tied his quarterfinal match, won his semifinal match and lost his final match (against Oklahoma powerhouse fifth-year Jonathan Brightwell) to end a dream week.
Two years ago, Menante roomed with fellow incoming freshman William Mouw at Pepperdine. In May, Mouw took a turn on the U.S. Walker Cup team, scoring two points for the victorious Americans. The next iteration of those matches happens in 2023 at the Old Course at St. Andrews. The Northeast is a handful of must-plays for U.S. team hopefuls.
Consider Menante one of those men.
“I’ve wanted to play in the Walker Cup because it’s such a defining honor to represent the United States,” he said. “…It’s always a goal I’ve wanted to achieve so hopefully I’m in their consideration.”
Consider this year’s win, while still months away from the next Cup, a leg up.
The stage is set for what should be a competitive final match.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — After a wild two rounds of match play on Tuesday, the stage is set for a national champion to be crowned.
Pepperdine defeated Oklahoma State, 3-0-2, to advance to the match-play final for the first time in program history at the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship. The Waves will square off Wednesday afternoon against Oklahoma, who defeated host Arizona State, 3-2, at Grayhawk Golf Club.
Clay Feagler, who aced the par-3 8th hole, put the first point on the board for Pepperdine with a 2-and-1 win over Austin Eckroat, and shortly after teammate Dylan Menante beat Brian Stark, 3 and 2. Joe Highsmith sealed the deal with a clutch shot from a fairway bunker on the 18th hole to beat Aman Gupta, 1 up.
The Sooners led for most of the afternoon, but it was Chun An Yu who earned the first point for Arizona State, defeating Garett Reband with ease, 5 and 4. Ryggs Johnston, who’s been strong for the Sun Devils all week, earned a second point, 3 and 2, against Ben Lorenz. Logan McAllister earned his second victory of the day to get Oklahoma on the board, taking down Mason Andersen, 4 and 3. Jonathan Brightwell then squared the match, also with his second win of the day, 1 up over a charging David Puig. Sixth-year senior Quade Cummins delivered the clinching point for the Sooners, beating Cameron Sisk, 2 and 1.
The final match will begin at 4:35 p.m ET, with Golf Channel airing live coverage beginning at 5 p.m. ET.
A pair of national championship-worthy matches are set for the semifinals in Arizona.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Match play just hits differently.
Despite only eight teams being on the course Tuesday morning for the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship compared to 30 earlier this week for stroke play, the buzz around Grayhawk Golf Club hasn’t changed. If anything it’s intensifying.
Pepperdine and Oklahoma State – the first two teams to punch their tickets to the semifinals – as well as hosts Arizona State and Oklahoma will each square off in national-title worthy matches Tuesday afternoon on the challenging Raptor course.
The Waves made quick work of Florida State, ending the match with a trio of wins in matches that never saw the final hole. Clay Feagler – who earlier this week broke head coach Michael Beard’s record for all-time rounds played for Pepperdine – put the first point on the board with a 6-and-4 win. Next up was Joe Highsmith, who earned a 2-and-1 win. Joey Vrzich put the third point on the board with a 4-and-3 victory. Seminole senior John Pak produced Florida State’s lone win.
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Oklahoma State followed suit with a 4-1 win over Vanderbilt thanks to the following results: A 3-and-1 win from Brian Stark, a 2-and-1 win from Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, a 3-and-2 win from Austin Eckroat and Bo Jin’s 1-up win.
Arizona State advanced with relative ease over North Carolina thanks to a pair of 4-and-3 wins from Ryggs Johnston and Mason Andersen and Chun An Yu’s 2-and-1 victory.
Illinois earned big wins from Adrien Dumont de Chassart (8 and 6) and Michael Feagles (4 and 3) but it wasn’t enough to stop Oklahoma from advancing to the semifinals. The Sooners were led by the usual suspects of Jonathan Brightwell (3 and 1), Logan McAllister (2 and 1) and Quade Cummins (2 and 1).
The 6th-year senior gets it done! Oklahoma advances, and for just the second time in this era of #NCAAGolf, the top four men's seeds advance to the semis.
The first semifinal match between Oklahoma State and Pepperdine is scheduled for 3:45 p.m ET, with Oklahoma and Arizona State scheduled for 4:35 p.m. ET.
The championship match will be played on Wednesday.
