Santa Cruz, Calif.----- Freshman Caleb Shetler saved the best for last firing a three-under 67 as San Jose State University finished ninth at the nationally-televised 74th Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf men's golf tournament.
Shetler's season-low 67 on the par 70, 6,615-yard Pasatiempo Golf Club course consisted of a pair of eagles, a first by a Spartan player in a round this season, two birdies and three bogeys. He joined teammate Carl Corpus, who had an opening round 68, as the two Spartans to post an under-par round in the three round championship televised by GOLF Channel.
Shelter finished tied for 15th at 214, also a season best. Corpus and Kristopher Stiles were next for San Jose State at 218 tying for 34th place. Stiles' opening round 70 was his best round of the Western and helped the Spartans start the tournament in fifth place.
Like Shetler, senior Sean Yu had his best round in the final 18 with an even par 70 for a 222 total.
As a team, the Spartans' 358 final round team score was their best for a 1096 total.
Pepperdine picked up its fourth win of the 2020-21 season and its first team victory of the spring finishing with a 1046 team total in the six-player, score-five format. Stanford moved up to finish second at 1057.
San Diego State moved up to third at 1070; Washington dropped to fourth at 1074; and Brigham Young was fifth in the 13-team field with a 1077.
Joe Highsmith, San Diego State's Puwit Anupansuebsai and second-round leader Carson Lundell of Brigham Young tied for first place at five-under par 205 after 54 holes.
After each player parred the par-3 18th hole twice, Anupansuebsai was the first player eliminated on the third playoff hole with his triple bogey seven on the par-4 10th hole while Lundell and Highsmith made par. Highsmith, who needed a 15-foot par putt on the second playoff to stay in contention, then had a tap-in par-4 on the fourth playoff for the win after Lundell missed a short putt for his par.
Only eight players in the 90-player field finished with an under-par total in the 90-player.
"…Pasatiempo never looked better. It was fantastic. I want to thank the members and the staff at Pasatiempo – Scott Hoyt, our alum and general manager; Ken Woods, the head pro; and Justin Mandon, the course superintendent. Everyone here did an amazing job of putting this (tournament) together and getting the course ready…," said San Jose State men's golf coach and Western Intercollegiate host John Kennaday.
For the second consecutive Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf, GOLF Channel provided more than three hours of daily live coverage for each round played. The partnership between San Jose State University, GOLF Channel and Topgolf began in 2019 and was interrupted in 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It (the GOLF Channel) coverage impacts the entire community. That's the wonderful thing. You go through different layers affects the economy here, the notoriety of Santa Cruz, the lifelong memories the kids have," Kennaday added about GOLF Channel's commitment to the Western Intercollegiate and to college golf.
74th Western Intercollegiate presented by Topgolf
Pasatiempo Golf Club, Santa Cruz, Calif.
Par 70, 6,615 yards
Final 54-hole results
Team scoring
1. Pepperdine 1046
2. Stanford 1057
3. San Diego State 1070
4. Washington 1074
5. Brigham Young 1077
6. California 1084
7. Oregon 1085
8. Southern California 1091
9. San Jose State 1096
10. Colorado State 1105
11. UC Irvine 1119
12. UTEP 1121
13. Hawaii 1136
Leading individuals
1. Joe Highsmith, Pepperdine 72-66-67-205 (-5)**
2. Carson Lundell, Brigham Young 68-66-71-205 (-5)
Puwit Anupansuebsai, San Diego State 69-70-66-205 (-5)
4. Clay Feagler, Pepperdine 72-70-66-208 (-2)
Derek Hitchner, Pepperdine (ind.) 69-71-68-208 (-2)
6. Henry Shimp, Stanford 72-71-66-209 (-1)
Karl Vilips, Stanford 73-65-71-209 (-1)
8. Barclay Brown, Stanford 72-69-69-210 (E)
** - won a playoff on the fourth hole
San Jose State team scores
15. Caleb Shetler 73-74-67-214
34. Kristopher Stiles 70-76-72-218
34. Carl Corpus 68-75-75-218
56. Sean Yu 76-76-70-222
64. Nate Jetter 75-76-74-225
75. Bryce Wortman 75-78-78-231
San Jose State individual scores
74. Matt Heitel 78-78-74-230
75. Vijay Srinivasan 75-78-78-231
82. RJ Cesario 80-76-81-237
