SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Luke Gifford thought his ball was going to sail past the hole.
A grad student at Pepperdine, Gifford had come to the par-4 15th hole off two straight birdies, including an uphill 30-footer on the 14th. His approach shot sailed right on the 15th, the pin left and tucked behind a menacing bunker, but he was just trying to lag a putt up close to the hole from 60 feet away and get out with a par.
He hit it, and Gifford instantly knew he put too much on it.
“I haven’t made a putt all week, have really struggled,” he said. “And that one was going to go a few feet by.”
That was, until his ball met a pebble.
There’s millions of pebbles scattered throughout Grayhawk Golf Club, site of the 2023 NCAA Men’s Golf Championship. It’s a desert course, so it’s no surprise when players or spectators have to empty their shoes after a round. But on the green?
Gifford’s ball hit the pebble about 10 feet away from the hole. It jumped up, killed the speed and went a bit to the right. It also went in the hole for his third straight birdie.
“This pebble is coming with me the rest of the tournament,” Gifford said with a smile. “It’s such a joke how it went in.”
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Gifford’s third straight birdie was the highlight of his round and a huge one for the Waves, which shot 11-under 269 on Sunday in the third round, setting a new record at Grayhawk for lowest round in an NCAA Championship. Pepperdine set the old record in 2021 with a 9-under 271 in the final round.
Gifford signed for a 3-under 67, his best round of the week. Derek Hitchner carded a 5-under 65. Sam Choi also shot 3 under, and William Mouw was at even-par.
Pepperdine, which won the championship in 2021 at Grayhawk and made the match play semifinals in 2022, moved up to second at 3 under and three strokes behind Illinois. More importantly, the Waves are well inside the 15-team cut and are in great position to make match play yet again.
“Guys played solid all the way around,” Pepperdine coach Michael Beard said. “We’ve got a great group of guys. Our youngest player is 22 that’s in our starting five right now. And with that comes experience.”
Only Hitchner and Mouw remain in the starting lineup from Pepperdine’s semifinalist team last year, but as Beard mentioned, there’s plenty of experience in the lineup.
He couldn’t quite put his finger on why his teams have been successful at Grayhawk. But the Waves have yet again put themselves in position to make match play, and a small pebble played a big part.
“It’s a combination of knowing this place and doing the prep work to make sure we can be successful,” Beard said.
