United Athletic Conference

Seattle Us Jack Rahon has been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Golfer of the Week for Feb. 19 through Feb. 25.

 

Rahon, a sophomore from Orange, Calif., posted a pair of top-25 finishes in back-to-back tournaments. At the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, he used a 4-under-par 68 in the first round to get off to a good start before hovering around par for the final two rounds, tying for 21st among 119 golfers with a 1-under-par 215. The Redhawks then headed straight to The Joust at Goose Creek, where the sophomore battled high winds in the third round to tie for fourth place with a 4-over-par 214. On the week, he posted a 71.5 stroke average in six rounds and now holds a 72.68 stroke average on the season.

 

Other men's nominees: Grand Canyon's Michael Salazar tied for 27th individually at the John Burns Intercollegiate to lead the Lopes to a 15th-place finish again several nationally ranked teams … UT Rio Grande Valley's Tae Itthiratchai shot an even-par 216 to tie for 11th at the Border Olympics in Laredo, Texas.

 

The spring portion of the schedule is officially underway as all eight teams have teed off at least once. Just two squads will be in action the first week of March, with Utah Valley heading to sunny Florida for the Fort Lauderdale Intercollegiate and UT Rio Grande Valley traveling to Biloxi, Miss. for the Gulf Coast Collegiate.

 

Kansas City's Paul Foulquie holds the top scoring average in the WAC this season at 71.1 through 15 rounds. Grand CAnyon's Trevor Lampson is second at 71.3, followed by Seattle U's Nathan Cogswell in third at 72.6. As a team, Grand Canyon holds the top stroke average at 288.2, followed by Kansas City (290.4) and Seattle U (291.6).

 

The WAC has had three individual medalists this season and one team title. Grand Canyon's Michael Salazar won the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational with a 12-under-par 204. NM State's Aidan Thomas was the second WAC golfer to medal this season, winning the Herb Wimberly Intercollegiate with a 6-under-par 207. In the final event of the fall, UT Rio Grande Valley's Alex Summers tied for first at the Homewood Hilton Airport Invitational in Estero, Fla., carding a 4-under-par 212. The Vaqueros also won the team title with a 2-over-par 866.

 

The 2020 WAC Men's Golf Championship heads back to Arizona as Ak-Chin Southern Dunes Golf Club will play host to the tournament on May 1-3, 2020. The championship Australian Sand Belt-style golf course sits on 320 acres of land that was once a part of Ak-Chin's original May 1912 reservation before it was removed by Presidential Executive Order in late 1912. Nearly 100 years later, in 2010, the Community recovered its sacred land when it purchased the Brian Curley and Fred Couples designed facility after it was originally developed as a private club. The course currently boasts several coveted accolades that include Golfweek's list of the "Top 100 Resort Courses," "Best Courses You Can Play," and "Top Casino Courses," as well as Golf Magazine's list of "Top 100 Courses You Can Play."