April 6, 2018
Nine of the top-50 men's collegiate golf teams will vie for the coveted trophy at the 72nd annual Transamerica-World Financial Group (WFG) Western Intercollegiate, Saturday, April 7, and Sunday, April 8. Held at the nationally-ranked Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, this popular collegiate golf tournament is hosted by San José State University.
The Pasatiempo Golf Club, known for its masterful Alister MacKenzie design, serves as a premier venue for the Western Intercollegiate (WI), one of the longest-running men's golf championships.
According to Tournament Director John Kennaday, SJSU men's golf coach, Arizona, Cal, Colorado State, Hawaii, North Carolina, Oregon, Pepperdine, San Diego State, Stanford, Texas, UC Irvine, USC, UTEP, Washington, and host San José State comprise the 15-team field.
The 2018 field includes two nationally-ranked top-10 players according to GolfStat, the number one-ranked Justin Suh (USC), the 2017 Western Intercollegiate medalist, and#2 Colin Morikawa (Cal).
San Jose State will field a six-man team in the 6-score-5 format of Kevin Velo, Vijay Srinivasan, Sean Yu, Ben Campbell, Sean Talmadge and Matt Murray. Bryce Wortman, Nate Jetter, Matt Ashley and Charles Thompson will play as individual entries.
"We are proud to host the 72nd Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo," said SJSU Men's Golf Coach John Kennaday, "and our players really look forward to competing on a course that will test their talent, and that of their competitors, too."
The Western Intercollegiate is rich in history with the former champions list including such notable players as Johnny Miller, Peter Jacobsen, Mark O' Meara, Duffy Waldorf, Bobby Clampett, and Patrick Rodgers, as well as Spartan alums Arron Oberholser, John Lotz, Mark Lye, and Golf Legend Ken Venturi.
Last year's tournament added to The Western's rich history. Four players from three schools, Pepperdine, Cal, and Washington, combined to make an unprecedented five holes-in-one. Junior William Aldred of Cal accounted for two of them, one each in rounds two and three.
The Western Intercollegiate is open to the public, admission is free, and golf enthusiasts are welcome to join the walking gallery. Free parking is available on site, on a first-come, first-serve basis.
In addition to dedicated Title Sponsor Transamerica-WFG, the Western Intercollegiate has the support of long-time platinum sponsors, Cooper-Challen Realty, Brandenburg Family Foundation and Don & Sally Lucas.
"Once again, we welcome each college coach and their team players to our course," said Pasatiempo's PGA General Manager Scott Hoyt, a San José State men's golf alum, who competed in the Western Intercollegiate during his collegiate days. "We look forward to watching these extremely talented players compete at our club."
Pasatiempo Golf Club ranks among the best by Golfweek, Golf Digest and Golf Magazine. To learn more about this premier course and its amenities, visit www.pasatiempo.com. For more information about the 2018 Western Intercollegiate, visit www.westernintercollegiate.net.
Live scoring is available at GolfStat.com.