Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images
For the second time in school history, the Pepperdine men’s golf team claimed the NCAA title, knocking off the Oklahoma Sooners in match play on Wednesday, 3-2-0, at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
It’s the first time Pepperdine has won the championship since 1997.
The No. 3 seed Waves knocked off No. 6 Florida State and No. 2 Oklahoma State before taking on No. 4 Oklahoma in the final round. Pepperdine’s Clay Feagler needed to avoid a bogey on the 18th and final hole of his matchup against Ben Lorenz to clinch the championship for the Waves. He wound up putting his birdie putt just inches from the cup and earning a concession from Lorenz.
That sent Feagler’s teammates sprinting down the fairway to go and celebrate together as the tournament came to a close.
Full Results
Jonathan Brightwell (OU) def. Dylan Menante (Pepp); 1-up
Joe Highsmith (Pepp) def. Garett Reband (OU); 4 and 3
Clay Feagler (Pepp) def. Ben Lorenz (OU); 1-up
Logan McAllister (OU) def. Joey Vrzich (Pepp); 1-up
William Mouw (Pepp) def. Quade Cummins (OU); 4 and 3
All the pressure appeared to be on Feagler down the stretch as he sank a birdie putt on hole No. 17 to remain 1-up with one to play before smoking his tee shot on hole No. 18 straight down the middle of the fairway.
Feagler had certainly earned his coach’s confidence by then. A day earlier, after knocking off Oklahoma State to reach the finals, head coach Michael Beard specifically pointed to Feagler’s performance as a turning point.
“Clay’s performance today was ridiculous, beating a couple of great players and All-Americans,” Beard said. “I’m so proud of him. Everyone played great but for Clay to come through the way he did, he should feel pretty good right now. We won’t tell our guys to do anything different, we’ve just go out and keep playing and executing tomorrow.”
After William Mouw finished off Quade Cummins on Wednesday afternoon, Feagler had an opportunity to serve as the clinching point in match play and send his team back to California with a national title.
He wouldn’t miss the chance to do so.
A redshirt senior from Laguna Niguel, California, Feagler owns the No. 3 scoring average in school history at 71.81 and was just one win shy of the school record. Instead, he helped deliver a title to a Waves program that’s gone more than two decades without one.
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