United Athletic Conference

Seattle U's Jack Rahon has been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Golfer of the Week for September 15 through September 21.

 

Rahon, a senior from Orange, Calif., started off his senior year with an outstanding tournament, shooting a 7-under-par 209 to take fourth place at the Husky Invitational. He shot a 4-under-par 68 in both the first and second rounds to shoot up the leaderboard and despite a 1-over-par 73 in the final round, he was able to earn the top-5 finish just two strokes out of the lead. As a team, the Redhawks tied for 13th among a tough field, shooting a 12-over-par 876.

 

Other nominees: Chicago State's Zach Phelps led the Cougars in scoring average in their first two tournaments of the new season, averaging 75.80 over five rounds at the ONU Bill Johnson Invitational and Valpo Fall Invitational … Grand Canyon's Matteo Cristoni earned a top-10 finish at the Ram Masters Invitational, shooting a 12-over-par 222 … Lamar's Pedro Marin used a 4-under-par 68 in the second round to tie for third at the Lone Star Invitational in San Antonio … NM State's Garrison Smith shot up the leaderboard on the final day of the Lone Star Invitational, shooting a 4-under-par 68 to finish in a tie for third place with a 1-over-par 217 … Stephen F. Austin's Jacob Garcia tied for 30th at the Lone Star Invitational, shooting an 11-over-par 227 … UT Rio Grande Valley's Leonard Novella led the Vaqueros in their season opener, shooting a 7-over-par 223 to tie for 13th place among 75 golfers at the Lone Star Invitational in San Antonio … Utah Valley's Brady McKinlay was the WAC's top finisher at the Ram Masters Invitational, firing an 11-over-par 221 in UVU's second event of the season.

 

Dixie State becomes the final team to open the 2021-22 season when the Trailblazers tee up at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate in Albuquerque, N.M. where they will be joined by NM State. Beginning on Sunday, both Abilene Christian and Sam Houston will be in Wisconsin for the Badger Invitational. Three more tournaments begin on Monday with California Baptist and Seattle U traveling to Fresno for the Nick Watney Invitational, Chicago State heading south to the Derek Dolenc Invitational in Carbondale, Ill. and Grand Canyon and Utah Valley heading to Boulder, Colo. for the Mark Simpson Invitational.

 

Seattle U's Jack Rahon holds the early lead in stroke average at 69.7 per round. California Baptist's James Mackie is second (70.0) while Sam Houston's Chad Sewell is third (70.7). As a team, Sam Houston is tops at 288.0, followed by California Baptist (288.3) and Seattle U (292.0).

 

The WAC will be in a unique situation this season with two teams having earned automatic qualifications to NCAA Regionals in May. NM State will be the defending WAC champions, having won the 2021 Championship by just one stroke at Boulder Creek GC. Sam Houston also earned an automatic selection after winning the Southland Conference Championship by 10 strokes over Lamar. The Bearkats then placed fourth at the NCAA Stillwater Regional to earn a spot at the NCAA Championship in Scottsdale, where SHSU tied for ninth in the team standings. 

 

On Jan. 14, the WAC announced the addition of five new schools in the upcoming years. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin and Southern Utah were all offered and accepted membership invitations. With the addition, the WAC now has six schools in Texas, more than any other conference in the country, and will have three schools in Utah, also a national best. The four Texas schools joined the league on July 1, 2021 and Southern Utah will follow 365 days later, officially joining the WAC on July 1, 2022. More recently, Tarleton announced this fall its intention to revive men's golf, beginning in fall of 2022.

 

For the second straight season, the 2022 WAC Men's Golf Championship will be played at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev. Made up of three nine-hole courses, the course is considered by many to be one of the top municipal golf courses in the country. Scenic vistas, cool creeks, colorful wildflowers, and smooth beach bunkers add to the lure of this unique golf course.