WCC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | VIDEO: Miller, Shieh Preview 2017 WCC Championship
PROVO, Utah – Hayden Shieh posted the best-ever showing by a Santa Clara men's golfer at the West Coast Conference Championships, though the junior came up just short in his attempt to become the first Bronco to claim the individual title.
Shieh fired a 4-under-par 68 during Saturday's final round, ending the three-day event, which was played at Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah, at 11-under 205 (67-70-68), tied with BYU's Peter Kuest (70-67-68) atop the individual leaderboard. Peter Widing of San Francisco was three shots off the pace at 70-70-68-208.
Shieh and Kuest returned to the 18th hole of the 7,063-yard course for a playoff. Shieh hit his second shot on the par-4, 415-yard hole into the fringe then chipped long and missed his par putt. Kuest, playing on his home course, was on the green in regulation and two-putted for his par and the WCC title.
"After finishing so close to winning all spring, it was nice to see him get into a playoff and at least tie for first," Santa Clara head coach Rob Miller said. "He's been knocking at the door all year. Too bad he didn't win, but he's had a heck of a spring with four top-five finishes. It's been impressive watching him play, he's been focused."
The Broncos carded a 4-under 284, their best round of the tournament, on Saturday to finish tied for fourth in the team standings with Pacific at 2-under 862.
BYU, the 47th-ranked team in the nation, claimed the title with a 24-under 840, the second-best total in WCC Championships history. No. 22 Pepperdine was second at 17-under, followed by Saint Mary's at 12-under in the nine-team field.
"It was pretty jammed up between fourth and seventh heading into the final round and we were trying to get to third," Miller said. "I thought we had a chance, but we had a couple miscues at the end."
Sophomore Derek Ackerman matched his career-best with a 68 on Saturday, finishing at 3-under 213 to earn a tied for ninth place.
"Derek had a good day," Miller said. "It was nice to see him finish strong."
Freshman Matt McCarty also secured a top-20 finish for the Broncos and could have been higher, but was hit with penalty. He shot a 1-under in the final round, posting a three-day total of 217 (72-74-71).
"Matt played really good today, but got a two-stroke penalty for moving a stone in the bunker," Miller said. "He went from 5-under to 1-under by bogeying two of the last three holes and then the penalty."
Hassan Said finished tied for 39th with a three-round total of 74-76-77-227 and Charlie Watson was 45th after postings rounds of 74-76-77-236.
The Broncos prepped for the WCC Championships by playing on the same course at last week's PING Cougar Classic.
Watson was tied for 33rd at the event, but was 3-under during the final two rounds.
"Charlie played well here last week," Miller said. "He was real excited about coming here and just couldn't get in going."
Until Shieh's performance, no Santa Clara golfer has finished higher than second at the WCC Championships. Steve Lee was second with an even-par 216 in 1998 and Drew Corwin was also second with the same total two years later.
Shieh, who finished second in a pair of spring tournaments, bettered five top 100 players who were in the field at the WCC Championships.
Santa Clara Final Individual Results
T1. Hayden Shieh 67-70-68 = 205 (-11)
T9. Derek Ackerman 73-72-68 = 213 (-3)
T20. Matt McCarty 72-74-71 = 217 (+1)
T39. Hassan Said 74-76-77 = 227 (+11)
45. Charlie Watson 77-81-78 = 236 (+20)
Connect with the Broncos on Social Media