Fun Facts – 77th Western Intercollegiate

Countdown to the 75th Western Intercollegiate

To celebrate our 75th Western in 2022, we gathered historical nuggets and other fun facts in a daily countdown of "75 Days to the 75th Western". Click any image below to enlarge it and learn more.

NOTE: Facts shown were current on the date posted. For updated info, 
please check other pages on this site.

75 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 75 = The Western Intercollegiate is the longest-running collegiate men's golf tournament. The 75th Western is scheduled for April 11-13, 2022.

Jan 26 = 75 days to go

74 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 74 = In 1961, San Jose State's John Lotz scored 74 in his final round, earning his first of three consecutive individual wins at the Western.

Jan 27 = 74 days to go

73 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 73 = In 1988, current BYU coach Bruce Brockbank opened with a 73 before posting consecutive even-par 71s and winning medalist honors at the 42nd Western.

Jan 28 = 73 days to go

72 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 72 = The number of holes played at the Western Intercollegiate from 1958 through 1967

Jan 29 = 72 days to go

71 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 71 = At the 50th Western, Stanford's Tiger Woods scored an even-par 71 in the final round and finished in third place with one under par at 212.

Jan 30 = 71 days to go

70 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 70 = Par score for 18 holes at the Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo Golf Course

Jan 31 = 70 days to go

69 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 69 = In 1981, Utah State's Jay Don Blake became the first player to post consecutive scores of 69 over 36 holes to win medalist honors.

Feb 1 = 69 days to go

68 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 68 = Eight past champions scored 68 in their final round to win medalist honors at the Western Intercollegiate (John Lotz, San Jose State; Howard Twitty, Arizona State; Peter Jacobsen, Oregon; Mike Brannan, Brigham Young; Connor Robbins, Washington; Kane Webber, Colorado; Patrick Rodgers, Stanford; Pedro Figueiredo, UCLA)

Feb 2 = 68 days to go

67 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 67 = In 1974, Oregon's Peter Jacobsen was the first medalist to post three sub-70 scores (67-69-68=204), starting with an opening round 67.

Feb 3 = 67 days to go

66 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 66 = 2021 medalist Joe Highsmith of Pepperdine shot a second-round 66 to move into a second-place tie heading into the final round.

Feb 4 = 66 days to go

65 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 65 = As a Pepperdine player in 2001, current Waves coach Michael Beard shot a final round 65 for a 215 total and a 7th place finish at the 55th Western.

Feb 5 = 65 days to go

64 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 64 = San Jose State's Arron Oberholser shot a final round 64 for a 206 total, overtaking Stanford's Tiger Woods, and winning medalist honors in 1996.

Feb 6 = 64 days to go

63 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 63 = In 2000, Pepperdine's Jason Allred was the first to shoot a 63, the lowest 18-hole score by an individual at the Western Intercollegiate.

Feb 7 = 63 days to go

62 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 62 = Sixty-two years ago in 1960, San Diego State swept the Western Intercollegiate with its first team championship, and Ron O'Connor of the Aztecs took medalist honors with a 294 total for four rounds.

Feb 8 = 62 days to go

61 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 61 = The number of birdies on the par 5, 565-yard 6th hole during the 74th Western Intercollegiate.

Feb 9 = 61 days to go

60 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 60 = In 2006, at the 60th Western Intercollegiate, Duke became the first school east of the Mississippi to win the team championship.

Feb 10 = 60 days to go

59 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 59 = Stanford's Isaiah Salinda played 59 holes (3 rounds plus 5 playoff holes vs. San Jose State's Sean Yu) for medalist honors at the 73rd Western in 2019.

Feb 11 = 59 days to go

58 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 58 = Ross Randall made it four consecutive years of medalist honors for SJSU 58 years ago, by winning the 18th Western. He returned many times as the University of Kansas coach.

Feb 12 = 58 days to go

57 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 57 = The number of pars on Pasatiempo's par 4, 7th hole during the final round of the 74th Western. It played as the 12th hardest hole of the day.

Feb 13 = 57 days to go

56 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 56 = Overall, 69 past Western Intercollegiate golfers have won a PGA Tour event. If you exclude former individual champions, then 56 Western alumni are PGA Tour winners.

Feb 14 = 56 days to go

55 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 55 = 55 trees surround Pasatiempo's 6th hole (par 5 and 567 yards)

Feb 15 = 55 days to go

54 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 54 = 54 years ago in 1968, BYU swept the 22nd Western with the Cougars winning the team championship, and Johnny Miller shooting 220 for medalist honors.

Feb 16 = 54 days to go

53 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 53 = Since 2005, 53 schools from 25 states have played in a Western Intercollegiate.

Feb 17 = 53 days to go

52 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 52 = In the 24th Western 52 years ago, Stanford's Tom Watson tied for second with 222 total, five strokes behind medalist Bob Clark of Cal State Los Angeles.

Feb 18 = 52 days to go

51 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 51 = In the 1920's, Hall of Fame golfer, golf course developer and architect Marion Hollins collaborated with Alistair MacKenzie on the Pasatiempo Golf Course design, one of the first golf courses in America embedded into a housing development. Ms. Hollins, a 2022 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, passed away at age 51 in 1944.

Feb 19 = 51 days to go

50 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 50 = Fifty years ago in 1972, three-time PGA Tour winner Howard Twitty of Arizona State won the Western Intercollegiate and was the first player to shoot an opening round of 65.

Feb 20 = 50 days to go

49 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 49 = The number of major championships won by players that competed in the Western Intercollegiate (13 U.S. Open wins, 12 Masters champions, 12 PGA Championship winners, 12 winners of The Open)

Feb 21 = 49 days to go

48 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 48 = At its widest point on Pasatiempo's par 5, 531-yard 12th hole, the fairway stretches 48 yards across, leaving the player about a 150-yard shot to the green.

Feb 22 = 48 days to go

47 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 47 = USC's Craig Stadler capped off four Western Intercollegiate appearances 47 years ago in 1975, with his third top-10 individual finish, tying for 10th place. He tied for 6th in 1972, and 9th in 1974.

Feb 21 = 47 days to go

46 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 46 = Pasatiempo Golf Club's general manager Scott Hoyt finished in ninth place at the 30th Western Intercollegiate 46 years ago in 1976, when he played for San Jose State.

Feb 20 = 46 days to go

45 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 45 = At this year's Western Intercollegiate, we need 15 volunteers each day to serve as Spotters for the production crew, totaling 45 opportunities to work behind the scenes with Golf Channel.

Feb 25 = 45 days to go

44 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 44 = There are 44 yards of putting green surface from front to back on the par 3, 5th hole at Pasatiempo.

Feb 26 = 44 days to go

43 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 43 = 2021 U.S. Ryder Cup team captain Steve Stricker, playing for Illinois in 1988, made it back-to-back top-10 Western Intercollegiate finishes, tying for 10th at the 43rd Western. He was second in 1988 to current BYU head coach and former Cougars' star Bruce Brockbank.

Feb 27 = 43 days to go

42 days to the Western Intercollegiate: 42 = There are 42 tee boxes at the Pasatiempo Golf Club course.

Feb 28 = 42 days to go

41 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 41 = CoSIDA Hall of Fame inductee Lawrence Fan joined SJSU in 1980, so he has been involved with every Western Intercollegiate for 41 years. The Western wouldn't be where it is today without his unconditional love of San Jose State athletics and Pasatiempo. We love and salute you, Lawrence! RIP (1954-2022)

Mar 1 = 41 days to go

40 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 40 = Sam Randolph led a USC sweep of the team and individual titles at the 40th Western Intercollegiate in 1986.

Mar 2 = 40 days to go

39 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 39 = Thirty-nine years ago in 1983, the Western Intercollegiate became an international college tournament with Nittaidai (Nippon Sport Science University) of Japan participating in the team competition.

Mar 3 = 39 days to go

38 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 38 = San Jose State's Grant Barnes became the first Canadian-born player to earn medalist honors at the 38th Western Intercollegiate in 1984.

Mar 4 = 38 days to go

37 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 37 = Thirty-seven years ago in 1985, San Jose State made it back-to-back Western Intercollegiate team championships.

Mar 5 = 37 days to go

36 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 36 = Pasatiempo's course developer and World Golf Hall of Famer Marion Hollins was 36 years old on its opening day, Sept. 8, 1929, when golf legend Bobby Jones joined her foursome, the first group to play the new course.

Mar 6 = 36 days to go

35 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 35 = Par for outward and inward nine holes of the Pasatiempo Golf Club for the Western Intercollegiate

Mar 7 = 35 days to go

34 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 34 = Golf legend Bobby Jones was so impressed with Cypress Point and Pasatiempo that he convinced architect Alister MacKenzie to design his course, Augusta National. Unfortunately, Dr. MacKenzie passed away in 1934, two months before the inaugural Masters Tournament.

Mar 8 = 34 days to go

33 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 33 = The number of green side bunkers on the front nine at the Pasatiempo Golf Club

Mar 9 = 33 days to go

32 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 32 = Thirty-two years ago in 1990, Mike Foster's 77 was the highest first round score by a Western Intercollegiate medalist. The San Jose State golfer finished 69-70 for 216 and the win.

Mar 10 = 32 days to go

31 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 31 = When Texas won the 69th Western Intercollegiate in 2015, Scottie Scheffler and Beau Hossler of the Longhorns combined for 31 holes of under-par golf -- 30 birdies and a Scheffler eagle in the victory.

Mar 11 = 31 days to go

30 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 30 = The number of acres of fairway at the Pasatiempo Golf Club for the Western Intercollegiate

Mar 12 = 30 days to go

29 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 29 = San Jose State's Mark Lye won the 29th Western Intercollegiate in 1975 over a field that included BYU's Mike Reid, USC's Scott Simpson and Craig Stadler, and Oregon's Peter Jacobsen.

Mar 13 = 29 days to go

28 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 28 = San Jose State's 12th Western Intercollegiate team championship win was in 1994 -- 28 years ago. Eight of those 12 wins were under the leadership of legendary coach Jerry Vroom, inductee in both the GCAA and SJSU Halls of Fame.

Mar 14 = 28 days to go

27 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 27 = The number of schools with players that won medalist honors at the Western Intercollegiate. (followed by a listing of those schools and their number of wins)

Mar 15 = 27 days to go

26 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 26 = The number of times the Western Intercollegiate medalist shot a score in the 60s in the final round

Mar 16 = 26 days to go

25 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 25 = A final round 69, the low score of the day by Rich Sims of Cal State Los Angeles, earned him medalist honors at the 25th Western Intercollegiate in 1971.

Mar 17 = 25 days to go

24 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 24 = The number of times a school won the Western Intercollegiate team championship and had a player earn medalist honors in the same year

Mar 18 = 24 days to go

23 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 23 = Led by San Jose State's 12 titles, the number of outright team championships won by Mountain West member schools. *Also, Fresno State tied with UCLA in 1983, the only team championship tie in the history of the Western.

Mar 19 = 23 days to go

22 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 22 = It was 22 years ago in 2000 that Pasatiempo played to a par 70 in the Western Intercollegiate for the first time.

Mar 20 = 22 days to go

21 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 21 = The number of schools to win a Western Intercollegiate team championship

Mar 21 = 21 days to go

20 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 20 = Twenty years ago in 2002, Audobon International, the global leader in environmental sustainability certifications, honored the Pasatiempo Golf Club as a Certified Audobon Cooperative Sanctuary.

Mar 22 = 20 days to go

19 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 19 = University of Hawaii alumnus Chayutpol Kittirattanapaiboon of Thailand has the distinction of the longest one name surname to play in a Western Intercollegiate, with 19 letters in his last name. He played in the Western in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Mar 23 = 19 days to go

18 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 18 = It's taken more than 18 holes on the final day of the last three Western Intercollegiate tournaments to determine the recipient of the Blue Jacket. 2021 Joe Highsmith (Pepperdine); 2019 Isaiah Salinda (Stanford); 2018 Norman Xiong (Oregon)

Mar 24 = 18 days to go

17 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 17 = Possibly Arron Oberholser's favorite hole at Pasatiempo. The SJSU golfer holed out from the 17th fairway for an eagle and medalist honors in 1996.

Mar 25 = 17 days to go

16 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 16 = Stanford's Maverick McNealy set the 54-hole Western Intercollegiate record with a 16-under par winning score of 194 in the 70th Western Intercollegiate.

Mar 26 = 16 days to go

15 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 15 = The 54-hole winning score for the Western Intercollegiate medalist has been under par 15 times since 2002. (Full list included)

Mar 27 = 15 days to go

14 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 14 = The number of PGA Tour events that Ken Venturi of San Jose State won after earning Western Intercollegiate medalist honors in 1951 and 1953, including the 1964 U.S. Open

Mar 28 = 14 days to go

13 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 13 = This year's field has won 13 tournament titles thus far this season. (4 titles: Washington; 2 titles: Colorado State, Oregon; 1 title: Arizona, Hawaii, BYU, Pepperdine, Stanford)

Mar 29 = 13 days to go

12 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 12 = Host San Jose State owns tournament records for most team championships and most individual medalists at 12 each. Stanford is next, with 11 team titles and 9 medalists. (lists of individual medalists included)

Mar 30 = 12 days to go

11 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 11 = The first 11 Western Intercollegiate medalists (1947 through 1957) earned their awards in match play competition. (list of winners included)

Mar 31 = 11 days to go

10 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 10 = The number of student-athletes who will represent host team San Jose State at the 75th Western Intercollegiate (photo of Kris Stiles, RJ Cesario, Nick Watts, Caleb Shetler, Vijay Srinivasan, Zubair Firdaus, Luigi Wong, Carl Corpus, Kotaro Murata)

Apr 1 = 10 days to go

9 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 9 = The number of coaches in the 75th Western Intercollegiate to play in the championship as a college player (photo collage of Conrad Ray, Stanford & Alma Mater Stanford; Ryan Donovan, SDSU & Alma Mater SDSU; Bruce Brockbank, BYU and Alma Mater BYU; John Fields, Texas & Alma Mater New Mexico; John Kennaday, SJSU and Alma Mater SJSU; Casey Martin, Oregon & Alma Mater Stanford; Scott Simpson, Hawaii & Alma Mater USC; Michael Beard, Pepperdine and Alma Mater Pepperdine; Walter Chun, Cal and Alma Mater Cal)

Apr 2 = 9 days to go

8 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 8 = This year's Western Intercollegiate features college golf's No. 1 player in RJ Manke of Washington, who has eight Top 10 finishes this season.

Apr 3 = 8 days to go

7 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 7 = The number of PGA Tour victories by Hawaii men's golf coach and USC alumnus Scott Simpson

Apr 4 = 7 days to go

6 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 6 = Each of the 14 teams in the 75th Western Intercollegiate will have six players with the best five scores each round counting towards the team total.

Apr 5 = 6 days to go

5 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 5 = The number of players to earn Western Intercollegiate medalist honors two or more times (list and photo included)

Apr 6 = 5 days to go

4 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 4 = The 75th Western Intercollegiate will be televised nationally for the 4th time, and the 3rd time in the last 4 years by Golf Channel.

Apr 7 = 4 days to go

3 days to the Western Intercollegiate: 3 = The number of years a playoff determined the Western Intercollegiate individual medalist (2021 Joe Highsmith, Pepperdine, defeated Carson Lundell, BYU, and Puwit Anupansuebsai, SDSU; 2019 Isaiah Salinda, Stanford, defeated Sean Yu, SJSU; 2018 Norman Xiong, Oregon, defeated Collin Morikawa, Cal, and George Cunningham, Arizona)

Apr 8 = 3 days to go

2 days to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 2 = San Jose State golf legend Ken Venturi became the second player to win Western Intercollegiate medalist honors twice, with victories in 1951 and 1953.

Apr 9 = 2 days to go

1 day to the 75th Western Intercollegiate: 1 = In 2014, Stanford's Cameron Wilson became the first player to earn Western Intercollegiate medalist honors and win the NCAA individual championship in the same year.

Apr 10 = 1 day to go

With special thanks to Lawrence Fan, long-time Sports Information Director for San Jose State University Athletics and Spartan Golf; your keen memory and steadfast research uncovered these gems. We will miss your presence at the Western Intercollegiate, but we treasure all the many memories of times shared with you at Pasatiempo over the 41 years you were here with us at the tournament. Rest in peace, good friend!

Thanks also to Derek Inouchi, Sports Information Director for University of Hawaii, who jumped in to help with some of the many areas Lawrence covered at the Western. With your support, we were able to continue his work and traditions. He would be proud of our joint efforts!