Texas comes from behind to win Southwestern Invitational

January 29, 2025 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Texas men's golf team (Texas Athletics Photo)

The Longhorns shot a final round 6-under 278 to win as a team, while Wells Williams of Vanderbilt won the individual title

After starting the round two shots back of the lead, Texas shot a 6-under 278 to win the 2025 Southwestern Invitational at Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

The Longhorns finished 8-under, barely edging out first-round leader San Diego State, who finished in solo second place at 7-under. Texas carded rounds of 289-277-278, while the Aztecs carded rounds of 276-290-279.

Vanderbilt was the only other team to shoot under par, finishing 4-under and in solo third place. Pepperdine finished in solo fourth place at even par, and Florida finished in solo fifth place at 5-over to round out the top five.

In the individual competition, Wells Williams of Vanderbilt finished 5-under to hold off the field and win by one shot.

Williams earned medalist honors for the second time in his collegiate career. He won the 2023 Cabo Collegiate during his freshman season. The West Point, Mississippi, native carded rounds of 68-71-69 to get to 5-under.

Williams is the second player from Vanderbilt to collect an individual title this season, as junior Ben Loomis won the Colonel Shootout on Sept. 8 to open his 2024-25 season.

Daniel Bennett of Texas, Justin Hastings of San Diego State, and Ian Gilligan of Florida all finished T2 at 4-under, just one shot back of Williams. Hastings recently won the 2025 Latin America Amateur to earn a spot in the 2025 Masters Tournament and 2025 U.S. Open Championship. Gilligan is currently ranked No. 5 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.

Ryan Downes of Vanderbilt, Pablo Ereno of UCLA, Christiaan Maas of Texas, and Zubair Firdaus of San Jose State all finished T5 at 3-under. 13 golfers finished under-par in the championship.

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

Texas comes from behind to win 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...