SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's golf will compete in its final tournament before the WCC Championship by taking part in the 11-team PING Cougar Classic, hosted by BYU at the 7,142-yard, par 72 Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah. Teams and individuals will play 36 holes on Monday and a single 18-hole round on Tuesday.
The event is a preview of the WCC Championship with six of the nine golf playing schools in the WCC competing on the same course that will host the conference final starting April 20. The Broncos will play alongside conference foes BYU, Saint Mary's, San Francisco, Loyola Marymount and Pacific.
"We're taking eight players to get a feel for the course," head coach Rob Miller said of his strategy. "We want to see which players have a game that best suits the course."
Junior Hayden Shieh has a game that plays any course and will be the anchor of the Broncos' team. Shieh missed out on his third career individual title in the Broncos last event, instead taking a runner-up finish at the Seattle Redhawk Invitational with a 6-under 206.
Shieh dropped his stroke average to 70.92 with three sub-par rounds in the Pacific Northwest, and 10 of his 12 rounds this spring have played below par. "It was a tough way for Hayden to lose, but he had a great tournament and is playing really well this spring," Miller said.
Freshman Matt McCarty and sophomores Derek Ackerman, Hassan Said and Charlie Watson will make up the Broncos five-player team. Devrath Das, Michiel Eyre III and Evan McLeod will all play as individuals.
First round action begins at 7:30 a.m. PDT with players teeing off from the first and 10th holes. Live scoring for the event is available on Golfstat.com.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Name: PING Cougar Classic
Dates (Site): Monday-Tuesday, April 10-11 (Provo, Utah)
Hosts: Brigham Young University
Tournament Field (Rank): Alabama-Birmingham (82), Boise State (136), BYU (46), Loyola Marymount (114), Pacific (175), Saint Mary's (57), San Francisco (86), Santa Clara (128), Utah Valley (172), Utah (107), Westminster.
Details: Teams and individuals will play 36 holes on Monday beginning from the first and 10th holes at 7:30 a.m. PDT. Tuesday will consist of a single 18 hole round with tee times TBD.
Course: Riverside Country Club
Yardage/Par: 7,142 yards - Par 72
Course Website: www.riversidecountryclub.org
Live Scoring: www.golfstat.com
