UNLV takes over the lead heading into the final round at Southwestern Invitational

January 28, 2025 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Zach Little (UNLV Athletics Photo)

Zach Little leads the Rebels, as he is tied for the lead with Christiaan Maas of Texas in the individual competition

After an impressive second-round 5-under 279, UNLV has taken over the team lead at the 2025 Southwestern Invitational at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

The Rebels shot a first-round 285 to finish 1-over, but the second-round 5-under 279 got the team to 4-under to take a two-shot lead.

San Diego State, who shot a first-round 8-under 276 and led the field by six shots, shot a second-round 6-over 290 and is T2 with Texas at 2-under. Vanderbilt is in solo fourth place at 1-over, and Pepperdine is in solo fifth place at 3-over to round out the top five. Florida is in solo sixth place at 6-over,

In the individual competition, Zach Little of UNLV and Christiaan Maas of Texas are tied for the lead at 5-under. Little shot a second-round 4-under 67, while Maas shot a second-round 3-under 68 to get to the top of the leaderboard.

Maas is currently ranked No. 16 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.

Wyatt Plattner of UNLV, Wells Williams of Vanderbilt, Ian Gilligan of Florida, and Zubair Firdaus of San Jose State are all T3 at 3-under and two shots back of the leaders.

This is the 46th edition of the Southwestern Invitational. According to Pepperdine University, The tournament began in 1978 at North Ranch Country Club with USC as the host. C.W. Johnson served as tournament director for more than 25 years. North Ranch also hosted the 1988 NCAA Championships.

Over the years, the Southwestern Invitational has also been known as the Southwestern Intercollegiate, the USC Collegiate Invitational, the North Ranch Intercollegiate, or the Cleveland Golf Classic. Pepperdine and USC co-hosted the event in 2013 and 2014, and the Waves then took over sole hosting duties beginning in 2016.

Arizona State holds the record for most victories, with nine. Host Pepperdine has marked three first-place finishes (2006, 2017, and 2020), with Sahith Theegala (2017, 2020) being one of four two-time winners.

The 2024 Southwestern Invitational foreshadowed one of the top amateur golf stories of the year: Ohio State's Neal Shipley's play.

Shipley won the individual title, and Ohio State won the team title. Shipley went on to earn low amateur honors at the 2024 Masters Tournament and 2024 U.S. Open.

Results: Southwestern Invitational

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Wells Williams	West Point, MS	700	68-71-69=208
2	Daniel Bennett	, South Africa	500	72-70-67=209
2	Justin Hastings	, Cayman Islands	500	69-71-69=209
2	Ian Gilligan	Reno, NV	500	72-67-70=209
5	Pablo Ereno	, Spain	400	71-73-66=210

View full results for Southwestern Invitational

About the Southwestern Invitational

UNLV takes over the lead heading into the final round at Southwestern Invitational

54-hole men's college tournament with team (best four scores of five players) and individual competitions. The Southwestern Invitational is the combination of two previously existing tournaments: the Southwestern Intercollegiate (started by USC in 19...