COMPLETE RELEASE (PDF)

GENERAL INFORMATION:

WHAT:  Pac-12 Conference Men’s Golf Championship (58th Annual)

WHEN: Friday-Sunday, April 28-30, 2017

HOST:  The University of Colorado will host the 72-hole Championship

COURSE:  Boulder Country Club, Boulder, Colo.

Par 70 (35-35), 7,002 yards 

WHO: Men’s golf teams from all 12 institutions will compete for bragging rights at the 2017 Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championship.

ADMISSION: Admission to the 2017 Pac-12 Championship is free.

MEDIA CONTACT:  Colorado’s David Plati will serve as the media contact for the 2017 Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championship. For media inquiries, you can contact him via email at David.Plati@Colorado.edu. Championship information, including schedules and tee times, the event program, results, news and records are available on the Pac-12’s golf championship website (http://pac-12.com/mens-golf/championships).

LIVESTREAM: The first three rounds on Friday, April 28 and Saturday, April 29 will be streamed live on cubuffs.com

TELEVISION: Pac-12 Networks will air coverage of the championships on Sunday, May 7 at 11 a.m. PT.

PRACTICE ROUND: Teams will participate in a practice round on Thursday, April 27 beginning at 9:00 a.m. Student-athletes and coaches will be availble to the media following the practice round.

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE: A complete schedule that includes team pairings and tee times is listed on page 3 of this release.   

CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS:  At the conclusion of each round, results and photos will be posted on the Pac-12’s golf championship web site (http://pac-12.com/mens-golf/championships) and a link will also be available on the Pac-12 website to hole-by-hole live Golfstat scoring (www.golfstat.com).

BOULDER COUNTRY CLUB COURSE YARDAGE

OFF THE TEE...

COLORADO will serve as host of the 58th Annual Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championships at The Boulder Country Club in Boulder, Colo., April 28-30. The Pac-12 is led by three top 10 teams (Golfweek rankings) in No. 1 USC, No. 8 STANFORD and No. 10 OREGON. However, No. 22 ARIZONA STATE, No. 25 COLORADO or No. 38 WASHINGTON look to find their way into contention ... According to Golfstat statistical rankings for average score, six of the top 10 NCAA DI golfers hail from the Pac-12 - No. 1 Wyndham Clark, Oregon (69.54), No. 4 Collin Morikawa, California (69.78), No. 6 Maverick McNealy, Stanford (69.87), No. 7 Jared du Toit, Arizona State (69.88), No. 9 Norman Xiong, Oregon (70.14)  and No. 10 Sean Crocker, USC (70.15). McNealy, the Pac-12 medalist in 2015 and current top-ranked amateur in the world, will look to become the first Pac-12 golfer to earn medalist honors multiple times since Arizona State’s Paul Casey won three straight titles from 1998-2000.

No. 1 USC - The Trojans have finished among the top two in each of their last seven events, including team titles at the Cypress Point Classic, Gifford Collegiate, Southern Highlands Collegiate, and Western Collegiate ... Juinor Sean Crocker (70.15 avg) has six top-10 finishes in nine events and has finished under par in eight events ... Senior Rico Hoey (71.00 avg), junior Jonah Texeira (71.30 avg) and sophomore Justin Suh (71.19 avg) have each taken medalist honors this season, grabbing honors at the Gifford Collegiate, Bill Cullum Invitational and Western Intercollegiate, respectively.

No. 8 STANFORD - The defending Pac-12 champions have posted a top-four finish in six events ... Senior Maverick McNealy (69.87 avg) has led the way with five top-10 finishes, including his record-tying 11th tournament victory at the Nike Collegiate. He matches Tiger Woods and Patrick Rodgers on the schools all-time wins list. He’s shot 69 or better in 14 of 23 rounds played ... Junior Franklin Huang (71.57 avg) and sophomore Brandon Wu (72.00 avg) have combined for nine top-10 finishes ... The Cardinal have won three consecutive Pac-12 crowns and look to join USC (1964-67) and Arizona State (1995-2000) as the only Pac-12 teams to win four straight titles.

No. 10 OREGON - The defending NCAA champions look to win its first Conference crown since back-to-back North Division titles in 1976-77 ... The Ducks have finished fourth or better in nine of 10 tournaments, including wins at the Arizona Intercollegiate, Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, Bandon Dunes Championship, and Oregon Duck Invitational ...  Senior Wyndham Clark (69.54 avg) has finished top-two in five events. Clark has shot 70 or better in 20 of 28 rounds ... Freshman Norman Xiong (70.14 avg) has five top-10 finishes and his scoring average is best among all DI freshmen.

No. 22 ARIZONA STATE - The Sun Devils finished among top four in six of 10 tournaments this season, including victories at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational and the NIT Invitational ... Senior Jared du Toit (69.88 avg) has seven top-seven finishes in 10 events and has posted 70 or better in 20 of 30 rounds ... Freshman Chun An Yu (71.52 avg) shot a 17-under 199 to claim medalist honors at the NIT Invitational. It was just his third collegiate event and he was just the third ASU freshman to post a win since 2003. 

No. 25 COLORADO - Senior Ethan Freeman (71.94 avg) has led the Buffaloes to nine top-five finishes this season. Freeman has posted 69 or better in 11 of 28 rounds. RIght behind Freeman is junior Yannik Paul (72.10 avg) ... The Buffs are looking to become the first team to host and win the Conference title since Washington claimed the 2009 team title in Seattle.

WASHINGTON - Senior Corey Pereira paces the Huskies having been the team’s top finisher in four events, including his fourth career victory with a win at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate ...Sophomore Carl Yuan (71.10 avg) has the team’s top scoring average.

UCLA -  Freshman Hidetoshi Yoshihara (71.7 avg) has been UCLA’s top finisher in five of 10 events, including his first career victory at The Maxwell. Yoshihara was the only golfer to finish under par in field that included nine of the Golfstat’s Top 100 players ... Sophomore Cole Madey (72.7 avg) has been the Bruins’ top finisher in two of their last three tournaments.

ARIZONA - Junior George Cunningham (72.88 avg) has posted the team’s best score in five of 11 tournaments, while junior Jordan Gumberg (73.24 avg) was the team’s top scorer in four others ... Gumberg is the Pac-12’s top-returning finisher from last year’s Pac-12 Championship where he finished second (8-under 276) ... The Wildcats have finished among the top-10 in seven of their last eight events, with a season-best second-place showing at the Oregon Duck Invitational. 

OREGON STATE - The Beavers have posted six top-five team finishes, including the last two tournaments ... Oregon State is led by senior Kevin Murphy who has been the team’s top finisher in each of the last three events ... Senior Conner Kumpula posted his first career win with medalist honors at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational where he broke a school record for three-round total with a 15-under 198. He’s the first Beaver to earn medalist honors since Nick Chianello at the 2013 ASU Tunderbird Invitational. 

CALIFORNIA - Sophomore Collin Morikawa (69.78 avg) has posted seven top-10 finishes, including medalist honors at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational. He’s posted 69 or better in 14 of 27 rounds played this season ... Freshman William Aldred carded a pair of hole-in-ones at the Western Intercollegiate played earlier this month. Aldred aced the 15th hole (141 yard par-three) in the second round, then followed up with an ace on No. 8 (177-yard par-three) in the third round. 

WASHINGTON STATE - The Cougars have posted eight top-10 finishes this season ... Juniors Zach Anderson and Derek Bayley have each recorded three top-10 finishes to lead Washington State.

UTAH - The Utes have posted five top-three team finishes this season ... Senior Gentry Hicks (72.4 avg) and sophomore Kyler Dunkle (72.1 avg) pace the Utes. Hicks has been the squad’s top finisher in five events, including three of the last four, while Dunkle has posted the team’s top score in three events ...

NELSON AWARD: Stanford’s Maverick McNealy has been named recipient of the Byron Nelson Award which recognizes a graduating senior and takes into account his academic and golf career, as well as his character and integrity. Arizona State’s Jared du Toit was one of five finalists for the award.

BEN HOGAN AWARD: Pac-12 is well represented with five players among the 10 semifinalists for the Ben Hogan Award - Arizona State’s Jared du Toit, California’s Collin Morikawa, Oregon’s Wyndham Clark, Stanford’s Maverick McNealy, and USC’s Sean Crocker. The most prestigious award in men’s college golf, The Ben Hogan Award is presented annually to the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or NJCAA college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the past 12-month period. The Ben Hogan Award list will be narrowed down to three finalists on Wednesday, May 3, with the winner announced Monday, May 22 prior to the start of the PGA TOUR’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Pac-12 golfers have owned the Hogan Award of late, winning each of the last five awards, and six of the last seven. 2016 and 2015 - Arizona State’s Jon Rahm; 2014 - Stanford’s Patrick Rodgers; 2013 - Washington’s Chris Williams; 2012 - UCLA’s Patrick Cantlay; 2010 - Washington’s Nick Taylor.

PALMER CUP: Four Pac-12 golfers were tabbed to participate in the 2017 Palmer Cup. California’s Collin Morikawa, Oregon’s Norman Xiong, Stanford’s Maverick McNealy and USC’s Sean Crocker will represent the United States. The annual Ryder Cup-style competition will be played June 9-11 at Atlanta Athletic Club.

THE RANKINGS:

Golfweek/Sagarin (as of Apr 20)
(Top 10 and Pac-12):
1. USC
2. Vanderbilt
3. LSU
4. Baylor
5. Oklahoma State
6. Florida
7. Illinois
8. STANFORD
9. Wake Forest
10. OREGON
22. ARIZONA STATE
25. COLORADO
39. WASHINGTON
48. UCLA
68. ARIZONA
77. OREGON STATE
78. CALIFORNIA
89. WASHINGTON STATE
112. UTAH

Golfstat (as of Apr 18)
(Top 10 and Pac-12):
1. USC
2. Oklahoma State
3. Baylor
4. Vanderbilt
5. STANFORD
6. Florida
7. LSU
8. OREGON
9. Wake Forest
10. Illinois
25. COLORADO
27. ARIZONA STATE
31. WASHINGTON
59. UCLA
70. CALIFORNIA
73. ARIZONA
80. OREGON STATE
88. WASHINGTON STATE
106. UTAH

Golfweek Individual Rankings (as of Apr 20)
(No. 1 and Pac-12 top 100):
1. Wyndham Clark, ORE
3. Maverick McNealy, STAN
4. Sean Crocker, USC
8. Norman Xiong, ORE
9. Collin Morikawa, CAL
13. Jared du toit, ASU
17. Rico Hoey, USC
33. Justin Suh, USC
40. Franklin Huang, STAN
57. Jonah Texeira, USC
71. Chun An Yu ASU
74. Brandon Wu, STAN
81. Hidetoshi Yoshihara, UCLA
82. Carl Yuan, WASH
97. Viraat Badhwar, STAN
99. Ryan Gronlund, ORE

Golfstat Individual Rankings (as of Apr 24)
(No. 1 and Pac-12 top 100):
1. Wyndham Clark, ORE
4. Collin Morikawa, CAL
6. Maverick McNealy, STAN
7. Jared du Toit, ASU  
9. Norman Xiong, ORE
10. Sean Crocker, USC
T43. Rico Hoey, USC
57. Justin Suh, USC
65. Chun An Yu
T66. Jonah Texeira, USC

2017 CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

SCHEDULE:  A practice round will take place on Thursday, April 27 at 9:00 a.m. before the tournament begins on Friday morning.  Friday’s tee times will be off No. 1 and No. 10 at 7:30 a.m., followed by the second round teeing off at 12:45 p.m. Tee times for Saturday will begin at 10 a.m. off No. 1 and No. 10. Sunday’s final round will begin at 8 a.m. off No. 1 and No. 10 with pairings decided by order of finish following Saturday’s round.

TEAM PAIRINGS AND TEE TIMES  
1st Tee
Rd. 1 /Rd. 2

10th Tee
Rd. 1/Rd. 2

TOURNAMENT SCORING:  The top-five individuals from each team with the lowest scores for any 18-hole round constitute the scoring members of the six member team for that given round. The team championship will be awarded to the squad with the lowest total combined score for all rounds.