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WHAT: Pac-12 Conference Men’s Golf Championship (56th Annual)

WHEN: Monday-Wednesday, April 27- 29, 2015

HOST: Washington State will host the 72-hole Championship

COURSE: Palouse Ridge Golf Course, Pullman, Wash. Par 70, 7,257 yards

WHO: Men’s golf teams from all 12 institutions will compete for bragging rights at the 2015 Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championship.

PRACTICE ROUND: Teams will participate in a practice round on Sunday, April 26 beginning at 8:30 a.m.

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE: A complete schedule that includes team pairings and tee times can be found here. 

CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS: At the conclusion of each round, results and photos will be posted on the Pac-12’s golf championship web site and a link will also be available on the Pac-12 website to hole-by-hole live Golfstat scoring.

PREVIEW:
WASHINGTON STATE will serve as host of the 56th Annual Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championship at the Palouse Ridge Golf Course, April 27-29. With seven teams ranked among the top 25 in the nation, the competition should provide for an exciting Championship. Conference teams are rife with talent across all classes, and the Pac-12 Championship may, once again, present a wild finish.

ARIZONA STATE, No. 5 in Golfweek/No. 3 in Golfstat is led by junior Jon Rahm (Barrika, Spain). Rahm has posted eight Top-10 finishes and is averaging 68.63. Junior Max Rottluff (Dusseldorf, Germany) has nine Top-10 finishes and is averaging 69.03. The duo currently ranks 1-2 in the nation in stroke average. Rahm’s 68.63 stroke average is currently the best in Sun Devil history. Paul Casey set the school mark at 69.87 back in 1999- 2000, while Phil Mickelson shot 69.95 in 1991-92. Rottluff is on his heels, as Max has a 68.97 stroke average in 10 events.... The Sun Devils have racked up five titles out of seven tournaments in their spring campaign. Out of 11 tournaments on the season, the squad has finished in the top two a total of eight times.... ASU has won four times and placed second on three occassions.

STANFORD, No. 9 in Golfweek/No. 13 in Golfstat, is the defending Pac-12 champion and ed by one of the nation’s top-ranked golfer in sophomore Maverick McNealy (Portola Valley, Calif.). McNealy has posted four individiual titles this season - Southwestern Intercollegiate, Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational, The Prestige at PGA West, and The Goodwin. He carries a 69.10 stroke average, which is just ahead of former teammate Patrick Rodgers who posted a 69.41 scoring average last season. McNealy is a three-time Stanford men’s club champion with the first coming at the age of 13. The Cardinal have finished among the Top-5 in eight of 10 tournaments this year.

UCLA, No. 13 in Golfweek/No. 14 in Golfstat, has finished in the Top-10
11 times with three victories this season .... The Bruins are led by junior Jonathan Garrick (Atherton, Calif.), who has a 71.07 scoring average and is ranked 18th in the nation based on head-to-head player standings. The Bruins are a veteran squad with eight of 11 players either juniors or seniors.

OREGON, No. 14 in Golfweek/No. 8 in Golfstat, opened the 2014-15 season with four consecutive victories and added one more in the spring. The Ducks have finished in the Top-5 in 10-of-11 tournaments this year, including a team victory at the Itani Homes Collegiate played at the Palouse Ridge Golf Club.... Junior Brandon McIver (Billings, Mont.) set an Oregon record for lowest round with a 9-under 62 in the opening round at the Ka’anapali Classic. It also tied for third all-time in the Pac-12 record books. His low round also led the Ducks to an NCAA record breaking 30-under 254 card in the opening round.

WASHINGTON, No. 15 in Golfweek/No. 12 in Golfstat, is led by senior Cheng-Tsung Pan (Miaoli County, Taiwan) who has six Top-5 finishes and has won three times this season. He’s 10th in the country with a 70.07 scoring average, which is slightly ahead of his UW season record 70.29 scoring average he set last season. Pan won double gold for Taiwan at the Asian Games as the top individual, while also helping his country to the victory in the team competition. Sophomore Corey Pereira (Cameron Park, Calif.) has five Top-10 finishes this season and joins Pan has a Top-10 finisher in last year’s Pac-12 Championship.

USC, No. 16 in Golfweek/No. 16 in Golfstat, has finished among the top 10 in all 11 tournaments played to date this season, including victories at the Itani Quality Homes Collegiate, Bill Cullum Invitational, Jones Invitationaland the Southen Highlands Collegiate Masters. Freshman Sean Crocker (Westlake Village, Calif.) has paced the Trojans with a 70.21 scoring average, followed by sophomore Rico Hoey (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) at 70.61. Seniors Eric Sugimoto (San Diego, Calif.) and Paul Smith (Turlock, Calif.) finished among the Top-10 at last year’s Pac-12 Championship.

Junior Shotaro Ban (San Jose, Calif.) leads No. 25 CALIFORNIA with a 71.96 scoring average. He’s posted three Top-3 finishes, including top honors at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate. Freshman KK Limbhasut (Loma Linda Calif.), who carries a 71.97 average, has posted three Top-5 finishes that includes a victory at the Aggie Invitational.

Keep an eye on these individuals... ARIZONA freshman George Cunning- ham leads the Wildcats with a 71.79 scoring average (71.03 avg), while senior Alex McMahon (Oro Valley, Ariz.) carries a 3.82 gpa in the classroom and a 73.67 average on the golf course... COLORADO sophomore Jeremy Paul (Viernheim, Germany) leads the Buffs with a 71.7 scoring average, with senior senior David Oraee (Greeley, Colo.) right behind at 71.8. Oraee set a tournament record with a 13-under par to win CU’s Mark Simpson Invitational... Senior Alex Franklin (San Rafael, Calif.) has been OREGON STATE’s top perfomer this season, boasting a 72.39 scoring average. He posted foru top- 10 finishes, including the last two tournaments. Sophomore Kevin Murphy (Rouge River, Ore.) adds a 73.24 scoring average for the Beavers... UTAH junior Brandon Kida (Layton, Utah) has a par of top-5 finishes and leads the Utes with a 73.5 scoring average, while junior Jonathon Thomas (West Point, Utah) also provided a top-5 finish this season and adds a 73.9 scoring average... WASHINGTON STATE senior Sang Lee (Calgary, Alberta) has posted a 72.10 scoring average this season to lead the Cougars. Freshman Derek Bayley (Rathdrum, Idaho) adds a 72.48 scoring average and will look to take advantage of the home course. Through the fall 2014 semester, the WSU men’s golf team boasted a 3.06 average cumulative GPA. Of the golf team’s 10-student roster, seven student-athletes earned a 3.00 GPA or higher.

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP AT PALOUSE RIDGE GOLF COURSE...
2015 marks the sixth time that Washington State University has hosted the Conference Championship (1973, 1977, 1985, 1995, 2005), but just the first time in Pullman. Washington State has previously hosted in the Eastern Washington cities of Clarkston, Spokane, Richland, and twice in Walla Walla.

BEN HOGAN AWARD: Pac-12 is well represented with three players among the 10 semifinalists for the Ben Hogan Award. 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 7, with the winner announced Monday, May 18 prior to the start of the PGA TOUR’s Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. The semifinalists are:
               Maverick McNealy – Stanford, So., Portola Valley, Calif. 
               Cheng-Tsung Pan – Washington, Sr., Miaoli County, Taiwan
               Jon Rahm – Arizona State, Jr., Barrika, Spain
*Pan is the first player to be named a semifinalist four years in a row.

PALMER CUP: Three Pac-12 golfers were tabbed to participate in the 2015 Palmer Cup. Stanford’s Maverick McNealy, will represent the United States, while Arizona State teammates Jon Rahm (Spain) and Max Rottluff (Germany) will represent the European squad. The annual Ryder Cup-style competition will be played June 12-14 at Rich Harvest Farms near Sugar Grove, Ill.