Men’s Golf | January 26, 2024
LOS ANGELES–The USC men’s golf team gears up for its second competition of the spring at the 45th annual Southwestern Invitational. The three-day tournament, hosted by Pepperdine, will begin Monday morning (Jan. 29), in Westlake Village, Calif. at North Ranch Country Club.
The tournament format will consist of three rounds of stroke play with each round being played on three separate days. The final round will take place on Wednesday (Jan. 31).
USC will be challenging Pepperdine, No. 19 California, Colorado, Houston, No. 25 Ohio State, San Jose State, San Diego State, No. 22 Texas Tech, UCLA, UNLV, Wake Forest and No. 7 Washington.
“The Southwestern Invitational is a historically top-level tournament, and we are excited to be able to compete close to home for our first tournament of the spring,” said head coach Mark Hankins. “The guys have had a competitive couple of weeks of practice, and we will look to control the things that we can control, try to adapt as quickly as possible to the course conditions and post 15 competitive scores. Our team depth is a strength, and we continue to gain confidence in both our team and each other.”
USC has historically found success at the Southwestern Invitational, winning the team title 7 times and having 6 individual winners, both of which are second all-time in the record books behind Arizona State. USC last won the team title in 2019, and former Trojan Justin Suh also took home the individual title that year.
In 2023, Texas took home the Southwestern Invitational crown, topping second place Pepperdine by 13 strokes and finishing out at 14-under par. The Trojans, who have competed at this tournament 43 times out of its 45-year existence, fell in at solo tenth last year.
Originally created by Ted Robinson, North Ranch Country was built in 1976, offers 3 distinct nine hole courses, the Lakes, Oaks and Valley. The Lakes course is home to one of Southern California’s most difficult holes in its 234, par 3 8th , which was voted the 18t toughest by Southland Golf Magazine. The course sits just outside of Thousand Oaks offering mountain views and impeccable greens and is dotted with the region’s signature oak trees. The tournament will be played on the Lakes and Oaks courses to create a par-71 track which…
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