Green Valley to host WCC women's and men's golf championships

FAIRFIELD — The West Coast Conference will bring its top golfers to the Green Valley Country Club the next two weeks to crown its team and individual championships. The women will compete Thursday through Saturday with tee times ranging from 7:30 through 9:09 a.m.

USF, Washington State, Santa Clara, Gonzaga, Pepperdine and Oregon State will compete. Pepperdine is the defending champion. The men will be at Green Valley, April 25-27.



The men feature Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Oregon State, Pacific, Pepperdine, Saint Mary's, San Diego, USF, Santa Clara and Washington State. San Diego is the defending champion. "I think this should be great," Green Valley pro Mark Sherman said.

"It will shine a nice light on the club. I think the golf course will be very challenging for the women. The men hit a little longer but our greens are the best defense.

It'll be interesting to see. Some will score low and others won't." Sherman has been a longtime friend of Saint Mary's men's coach Scott Hardy.

The interest was there to bring the men to Green Valley. When Sherman was put in contact with the West Coast Conference, the opportunity arose to host both the men and the women. Green Valley is a private club, but interested spectators will be allowed to watch the competition.

There is no cost. It should also be noted that no spectator carts are allowed. Green Valley Country Club is located at 35 Country Club Drive in rural Fairfield.

It is a par-72 course that measures at 6,497 yards with a slope of 130 and a rating of 71. The first hole opens with a challenging par-5. Grace Lee, of Gonzaga, had three top 10 finishes in her three events to be named the WCC's top player for the month of March.

Lee earned medalist honors at the Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational on March 26 in Lahaina, Hawaii. In her win, the junior finished 11-under (205) in the event, where her six-under 66 in the second round matched the third-lowest round in program history.

J.P. Odland, of Santa Clara, was the men's golfer of the month.

Odland put together three top-20 finishes for the Broncos, including co-medalist honors at The Goodwin hosted by Stanford. His 5-under 205 at The Goodwin earned a share of the individual title and led the Broncos to a tie for fifth place in the event..