ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, CALIF. – The USC Trojans won their first Pac-12 golf title since 2011 and 20th overall after outdueling COLORADO and ARIZONA STATE for the Conference crown at the Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championships at Rolling Hills Country Club (Par 71, 7,130 yards) in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.

Breezy conditions kept scores in check for most of the day. However, the Trojans managed to post a 4-under for the final round to finish at 31-under par, four strokes ahead of second-place Colorado (27-under) and eight strokes clear of third-place Arizona State (23-under). The Trojans are the first team to host and win the Pac-12 Championships since Washington in 2009.

USC coach Chris Zambri on the victory, “Feels awesome, it feels really awesome. I am so excited for the program and these guys. It feels great.”

“Everybody did great this week. Every single guy contributed for us. It was a really great week for us.”

USC’s Justin Suh managed to hold off ARIZONA’s George Cunningham, WASHINGTON’s Carl Yuan and Colorado’s Ross Macdonald and Yannik Paul to capture medalist honors. Suh posted an even-par 71 to finish at 16-under for the Championships to become the first Trojan to earn medalist honors since Martin Trainer in 2011.  Cunningham (2-under 69), Yuan (4-under 67), Macdonald (4-under 67) and Paul (4-under 67) finished tied for second at 12-under.

Suh was holding a one-stroke lead over Cunningham and Yuan with four holes to play when he eagled No. 15 and birdied on No. 16 to give himself a four-stroke cushion heading into his final two holes.

On Suh’s closing performance, Zambri added, “Justin is a really great competitor and he has a really strong mental side of his game. I am not surprised.”

In recapping his final round performance, Suh added, “It was rough. I had nothing going and we were always on the clock. It was tough playing smart golf because we really couldn’t go through our whole routine and it was a little rushed.”

“On the tee of No. 15, I asked Justin (USC assistant coach Justin Silverstein) where do I stand. He said you were one ahead of George and Carl. I knew coming down I had to finish strong. That eagle and birdie helped a lot”

On how it feels to be a champion, Suh responded, “It feels great. It was a long four days, but it feels great. Everything paid off, everything we worked for, especially the preparation we did as a team and for the coaches to help us out on the course means a lot.”

Championship notes… ARIZONA STATE’s  Koichiro Ishika was the low freshman for the Championships, finishing sixth at 11-under … COLORADO, behind the play of Macdonald and Paul, posted its best Conference finish since joining the Pac-12 in 2012 … Five players shot 69 or better in each of the four rounds of the Championship, while 11 players shot par or better in each round.

The Pac-12 Network will air a recap of the 2018 Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championships on Sunday, May 6 at 10 a.m. PT.

Final Team Results (Par 71, 7,130 yards)

Final Individual Leaders (Par 71, 7,130 yards)