TOP-RANKED PEPPERDINE UNVERSITY HEADLINES 15-TEAM FIELD FOR THE 74TH ANNUAL WESTERN INTERCOLLEGIATE PRESENTED BY TOPGOLF, MONDAY- WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13-15
GOLF Channel to Televise Nearly 20 Hours of Tournament Coverage
Top-Ranked Amateurs Headline Field, Including World No. 2 Cole Hammer (Texas) and No. 7 Sahith Theegala (Pepperdine)
Website: Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf
SANTA CRUZ, Calif., – The 15-team field for the Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf and hosted by San José State University has been announced, featuring six teams ranked in the top-20 and headlined by top-ranked Pepperdine University.
Taking place Monday-Wednesday, April 13-15 at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif., the Western Intercollegiate is entering its 74th year and will be the final regular season event for the field prior to the start of conference championships. Boasting the world’s second-ranked amateur, Cole Hammer (Texas) and the seventh-ranked amateur, Sahith Theegala (Pepperdine), six of the 15 teams are ranked in the top-20 nationally according to GolfStat: Pepperdine (1), Colorado State (4), Arizona (6), BYU (15), Texas (16) and Washington (17), along with defending champions and reigning NCAA national champions Stanford.
2020 Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf field
University of Arizona
Brigham Young University
University of California
University of California-Irvine
Colorado State University
University of Hawaii
University of Oregon
Pepperdine University
San Diego State University
San José State University
University of Southern California
Stanford University
University of Texas
University of Texas-El Paso
University of Washington
GOLF Channel will deliver nearly 20 hours of tournament coverage for a second consecutive year. GOLF Channel’s live tournament coverage of the Western Intercollegiate will air in primetime Monday and Tuesday, April 13-14, from 7-10 p.m. ET and on Wednesday, April 15 from 4-7 p.m. ET.
Reigning NCAA champion Stanford University swept both the team and individual titles at the 2019 Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf. Stanford finished at 10-under par, winning the team championship by six shots. Isaiah Salinda (Stanford) outlasted Sean Yu (San José State) in the individual competition after making a seven-foot birdie putt on the par-3 18th – the fifth playoff hole and longest playoff in Western Intercollegiate history.
Hosted by San José State University, the 74th Western Intercollegiate is a 54-hole stroke play team and individual championship. The tournament’s rich history features past champions Johnny Miller (BYU), Mark O’Meara (Long Beach State), Peter Jacobsen (Oregon) and San José State alums Ken Venturi, Arron Oberholser and Mark Lye. Recent individual champions include Salinda (2019), Norman Xiong (Oregon, 2018), Justin Suh (USC, 2017), Maverick McNealy (Stanford, 2016), Scottie Scheffler (Texas, 2015) and Patrick Rodgers (Stanford, 2012). In total, players who have competed in the Western Intercollegiate account for 425 PGA TOUR victories and 44 major championships, including past participants Tiger Woods (Stanford), Jon Rahm (Arizona State), Jordan Spieth (Texas), Tom Watson (Stanford), Steve Stricker (Illinois), Roger Maltbie (San José State), Duffy Waldorf, (UCLA) and 2019 U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland (Kansas).
The individual medalist at the Western Intercollegiate receives the coveted Blue Jacket, honoring legendary Pasatiempo Golf Club course designer Alister MacKenzie, also the designer of Augusta National Golf Club.
GOLF CHANNEL COVERAGE AND BROADCAST TEAM
GOLF Channel will televise nine hours of live tournament coverage April 13-15, with replays in primetime on the West Coast. Golf Central, the network’s daily news program, will provide wraparound news coverage of the tournament, complemented by digital and social media coverage. Bob Papa and Curt Byrum will call the action from the broadcast booth. Steve Burkowski will report from an on-course tower, with Billy Ray Brown and 1996 Western Intercollegiate champion Arron Oberholser reporting from the course.
GOLF Channel / Western Intercollegiate Coverage (all times ET)
|
Monday, April 13 |
Round 1, Stroke Play |
7-10 p.m. (Live) / Midnight – 3 a.m. (Replay) |
|
Tuesday, April 14 |
Round 2, Stroke Play |
7-10 p.m. (Live) / 11 p.m.-2 a.m. (Replay) |
|
Wednesday, April 15 |
Final Round, Stroke Play |
4-7 p.m. (Live) / 1:30-3:30 a.m. (Replay) |
GOLF Channel is the television home for college golf, televising five college golf championships. Following its announcement in 2013 as the exclusive television provider of the NCAA Golf Championships, GOLF Channel has provided live coverage of the men’s NCAA championships since 2014 and the women’s NCAA championships since 2015, which now are hosted at the same venue in consecutive weeks in May. The 2020 NCAA Women’s and Men’s Golf Championships will take place May 22-June 3 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
In September, GOLF Channel will televise a new college championship, the Maridoe Collegiate Invitational, a 54-hole team and individual stroke play championship, and in October, GOLF Channel will televise the East Lake Cup collegiate match play championship at historic East Lake Golf Club. In addition, GOLF Channel deploys its comprehensive portfolio of news, digital and social media coverage year-round in covering collegiate golf, including specials for regional and national qualifying, on-site and wraparound news from golf’s biggest college events, and is the television home for the Haskins and ANNIKA Awards presented by Stifel.
ABOUT SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY MEN’S GOLF
San José State University’s standing in NCAA Division I men’s golf is well-established. The Spartans have a 1948 NCAA team championship and placed in the top-10 14 more times. NCAA champions Bob Harris in 1948 and Terry Small in 1964 headline 11 top-10 Spartan individual finishers at the national championship. San Jose State alums have stayed in the game and pursued careers as broadcast commentators, teaching pros, club professionals, coaches for all skill levels, and successful amateur and professional players. Since 1947, San Jose State has served as the host of the annual Western Intercollegiate played at the Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, California.
ABOUT THE PASATIEMPO GOLF CLUB
From greens that have challenged generations of golfers including Bobby Jones, Ken Venturi, Juli Inkster, and Tiger Woods, to rich golf history and breathtaking scenery, Pasatiemepo delivers a memorable golf experience: it is truly one of the finest championship golf courses in the world. Designed by world-renowned golf architect Alister MacKenzie, Pasatiempo has hosted the Western Intercollegiate and USGA Championships including the 1986 U.S. Women’s Amateur and the 2004 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur.
ABOUT TOPGOLF ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
Topgolf Entertainment Group is a technology-enabled global sports and entertainment community that connects people in meaningful ways through the experiences we create, the innovation we champion and the good that we do. What began as a technology that enhanced the game of golf now encompasses a range of experiences where communities can discover common ground at brand expressions including Topgolf venues, Lounge by Topgolf, Toptracer, Toptracer Range, Topgolf Swing Suite, Topgolf Studios, Topgolf Live, World Golf Tour (WGT) by Topgolf and Driving for Good.
ABOUT NBC SPORTS GROUP’S GOLF DIVISION
NBC Sports Group’s GOLF division delivers multimedia golf content, technology and services. Anchored by GOLF Channel – co-founded by Arnold Palmer in 1995 – GOLF content is available to nearly 500 million viewers in nine languages across more than 70 countries around the world. GOLF features more live coverage of the sport than all other U.S. networks combined, including global tournament action from the PGA TOUR, LPGA Tour, European Tour, NCAA, THE PLAYERS, The Open, Olympics, Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup, as well as high-quality news, instruction and original programming. Delivering unmatched coverage from the world of golf via GOLF Digital, fans can access 24/7 live streaming through the NBC Sports App, as well as complementary coverage via PGA TOUR LIVE on NBC Sports Gold. In addition to these all-encompassing media platforms, NBC Sports connects the world to golf through a wide array of technology and lifestyle services, including: GOLFNOW, the world’s largest online tee time booking platform; GOLF Business Solutions, solving business needs through leading technology, marketing and services; GOLFPASS, an all-in-one digital membership delivering comprehensive benefits tailored to the modern golfer’s lifestyle; Revolution GOLF, the world’s largest direct-to-consumer digital platform in golf, offering best-in-class video instruction and game improvement products; GOLF Advisor, the ultimate digital destination for the traveling golfer, featuring the largest number of user-generated golf course ratings and reviews in the industry; GOLF Academy, a North American network of instructional facilities; and GOLF Am Tour, the world’s largest amateur golf tour. GOLF’s global reach originates from its world headquarters in Orlando, Fla., and extends to its international office in Belfast, Northern Ireland; regional offices across North America, Europe and Australia; and also includes collaborations with Sky Sports and serving as the Official Media Partner of St Andrews Links.
-NBC Sports Group-
Media Contacts:
Jeremy Friedman
GOLF Channel Communications
407-355-4058
Jeremy.Friedman@golfchannel.com
Joe Waltasti
Assistant Athletics Director for Media Relations
San Jose State University
407-924-1211
joseph.waltasti@sjsu.edu
