Tag: Sahith Theegala

Event info, players to watch as college golf’s best compete at The Prestige

Everything you need to know for the 20th playing of men’s college golf’s The Prestige.

Three of the top-10 and six of the top-25 men’s college golf teams in the Golfweek/Sagarin rankings will tee it up this week at the 20th playing of The Prestige, Feb. 17-19 in La Quinta, California.

The Greg Norman Course at PGA West plays host once again for the three-day event featuring a field of 16 teams highlighted by No. 1 Pepperdine, No. 6 Texas Tech, No. 7 Texas and No. 15 SMU. Defending national champion Stanford is also in the field, along with 2018 NCAA champion Oklahoma State and host-school UC Davis.

Golfweek will livestream the final-round coverage as part of College Golf Live’s 2020 Spring Series. You can catch the final round action at Golfweek.com/Prestige2020 on Feb. 19 from 1-6 p.m. ET.

PGA Champion, three-time NCAA champion and veteran golf commentator Steve Elkington will call the action alongside ESPN personality Ben Lyons, with analyst Will Haskett delivering onsite coverage.

Here’s everything you need to know for The Prestige.

Where

Greg Norman Course at PGA West, La Quinta, California. Par 71, 7,100 yards.

Schedule

Feb. 17-19. 18 holes each day, beginning at 10:30 a.m. ET off Nos. 1 and 10.

Field

Arkansas, Iowa State, LSU, Northwestern, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, SMU, Stanford, Texas, Texas Tech, UC Davis, UCLA, Wyoming and University of Stirling (Scotland).

Players to watch

Sahith Theegala, senior, Pepperdine

Theegala, ranked No. 2 in the nation, has won twice this season, bringing his collegiate total to four. A fifth win this week at The Prestige would set a new program record. His 69.08 scoring average is tied for sixth best in the country.

Sandy Scott, senior, Texas Tech

The Scottish senior finished 10th in Hawaii at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate to start the Spring, his third top 10 on the season. He won the Red Raiders first event of the year at the Carmel Cup and is 18-12-0 against the top 50 players in the country. Ranked No. 3 by Golfweek/Sagain.

Noah Goodwin, junior, SMU

If it’s a par 5, chances are Goodwin’s making birdie. His 4.40 scoring average on the long holes is T-4 in the nation, and his 3-1 record vs. the top 23 (7-3 vs. the top 50) isn’t too shabby, either.

Pierceson Coody, sophomore, Texas

Former No. 1 Amateur Cole Hammer gets a lot of the headlines, and deservedly so. But Coody should get a fair share, as well. The sophomore has three top 10 – and two top five – finishes this season, including a fifth-place showing last week at the Amer Ari, where he shot 66-67 in the final two rounds. Ranked No. 6 in the country.

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Alyaa Abdulghany, Sahith Theegala collect Australian Master of the Amateurs titles

Alyaa Abdulghany and Sahith Theegala, both college players in the U.S., won the titles after 72 holes at Victoria Golf Club.

University of Southern California women have made headlines on seemingly every stage over the past year, from the U.S. Women’s Amateur to the Women’s British Amateur to LPGA Q-School. Across the world from Los Angeles on Jan. 9, Trojan junior Alyaa Abdulghany won the Australian Master of the Amateurs to add to the collection.

Abdulghany clipped Ho Yu An and Cassie Porter on the first hole of a playoff. Abdulghany forced her way into extra holes with a birdie on the 18th hole at Victoria Golf Club. She made another birdie to win the prestigious amateur event, which awards green jackets to its champions.

This is Abdulghany’s third season with USC, but her first time returning as an All-American. Born in Malaysia, she grew up in Newport Beach, California, and was a USA Today High School Player of the Year.

Her big victory came at the SCGA Women’s Amateur over the summer. She was also fourth in a deep Canadian Women’s Amateur field.

USC teammate and New Zealand native Amelia Garvey also competed in Australia, finishing 72 holes at 11 under and tied for 20th with Emily Toy, the Englishwoman who beat her in the final of the Women’s British Amateur at Royal County Down in June.

In the men’s division, Sahith Theegala earned a more decisive victory at 10 under, which was four better than runner-up Jang Hyun Lee. Theegala, a redshirt senior at Pepperdine, set up his week with a bogey-free 6-under 66 that included an eagle on the 18th. His rounds crept steadily upward throughout the rest of the week, but even a closing 75, which included two double-bogeys, could not derail the victory.

Theegala is back in the Pepperdine lineup after sitting out a season with a wrist injury. The Waves climbed to No. 4 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings in the fall, and Theegala to No. 14 individually after he won the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in October.

He is also ranked No. 38 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking after a summer that included a runner-up at the Sahalee Players Championship and a SCGA Amateur title, which was just his fourth start back.

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