Parker Coody after his big playoff win (College Golf Live screenshot)
USC won the Southern Highlands Collegiate, holding off the University of Texas by two shots at Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas.
USC went wire-to-wire, but it was close throughout. Freshman Yuxin Lin of China shot a pair of 67s to pace the Trojans and take a five-shot lead into the final round. But Lin struggled in the final round, and gave an opening for the field to catch him.
It took a sterling effort from Parker Coody of Texas, who started the day seven shots behind Lin, to get there.
Playing with Lin, Coody shaved two shots off the lead on the front nine but still trailed by five shots. The key hole for Coody was the par-4 11th, where Coody's tee shot got stuck in a tree, but somehow managed to save par from 35 feet.
Coody then went on to birdie four of his last six holes, including on the final hole, to force a playoff with Lin. On the first playoff hole, Lin was bunkered, blasted over the green and made bogey, allowing Coody a par and the win.
The prize was an exemption in the PGA Tour's Shriners Hospitals for Children Open at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas. Last year, UNLV's Jack Trent won at Southern Highlands and took full advantage of his exemption, finishing T29 at the Shriners.
Golfweek and College Golf Live livestreamed the final round action.
In the team competition, Texas finished second, two shots back, with Texas Tech a close third, another shot back. Florida was fourth, with No. 1 Pepperdine and UCLA tied for fifth.
UCLA's Devon Bling, a runner-up to Viktor Hovland in the 2018 U.S. Amateur, finished third individually at seven under, just one shot out of the Coody-Lin playoff.
ABOUT THE Southern Highlands Collegiate
54 hole men's college tournament hosted by UNLV.
Team (best four scores of five players each day) and
individual competitions.
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