Event: The Prestige at PGA West
Where: La Quinta, Calif.
When: Sunday, Monday and Tuesday all day
Who to watch? Junior Austin Graham was named Big West Conference Golfer of the Month for September.
In that month, Graham earned two top-three finishes, helping the Aggies place in the top three in both of their tournament appearances.
At the Washington State Invitational in Pullman Wash., Graham set a course record with a seven-under-65 on Tuesday at the Palouse Ridge Golf Course, helping both UC Davis and himself to a third-pace finish at the Invitational.
In the Aggies‘ second tournament of the season at the Michigan State Spartan Classic, Graham tied for third. UC Davis improved on its third place finish in Pullman, to finish second in Kingsley, Mich.
Did you know? The Aggies are coming off an 11th place finish at the Windon Memorial Tournament hosted by Northwestern.
UC Davis shot a team 294 ( 10) on the final day at the Skokie Country Club in Glencoe, Ill.
The 294 mark was the Aggies‘ lowest team round of the Memorial and improved their standing from a 12th place tie to 11th overall.
Preview: This weekend the Aggies will co-host The Prestige at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif. with Stanford. The Prestige is the only event that UC Davis hosts in the fall season.
“For schools to be able to get into the tournament there is a mixture of athletics and academics,” Graham said. “It’s not just the top talent but also the top teams academically.“
This year the teams will get to play arguably the most prestigious of the PGA West’s six courses according to coach Cy Williams.
“We’re going to play the Stadium Course this year,” Williams said. “The field’s going to be outstanding. It’s going to be very exciting.“
The Stadium Course hosts the final stage of PGA Tour qualifying school every other year.
“Q-school” is a grueling multiple-month process that awards 25 PGA Tour cards for the following year when it concludes.
This year’s field of 13 teams includes seven from California and the 13th ranked Texas Christian University. The Hornfrogs are also the defending champions at the Prestige.
– John S. Heller
