No. 19 USC, Pac-12 Champs, Headed To Stockton For NCAA Pacific Regional

The No. 19 USC men's golf team, led by Golfweek's No. 1 ranked player, a five-time winner this year and the Pac-12 Player of the Year, junior Justin Suh, begins the drive for the program's first NCAA team title as the No. 4 seed of the NCAA's Pacific Regional at The Reserve at Spanos Park in Stockton, Calif., one of six NCAA Regionals that will be conducted Monday through Wednesday (May 14-16).

Thirteen teams and 10 individuals not on those teams will compete at each of three regionals while the other three regionals will have 14 teams and five individuals not on those teams. The low five teams and the low individual not on those teams from each regional will advance to the finals, May 24-29 in Stillwater, Okla.

USC, a regional top seed the past two years, has won three NCAA Regional titles under 12^th-year head coach Chris Zambri, including in 2017, 2012 and 2008. The Trojans need a top 5 finish in the 13-team field competing in Stockton to advance to the NCAA Championships in Oklahoma. The Trojans are looking to qualify for their 12^th consecutive NCAA final field, all under Zambri.

Joining the Trojans in Stockton will be No. 1 seed LSU, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Stanford, No. 5 Oregon, No. 6 TCU, No. 7 Colorado, No. 8 Kansas, No. 9 Kennesaw State, No. 10 Iowa State, No. 11 North Carolina-Greensboro, No. 12 UC Irvine and No. 13 North Dakota State.

Results for the tournament will be available at Golfstat.com.

Suh-perlatives

USC has been led this year by junior Justin Suh, a five-time winner in 10 events this season who is averaging a remarkable 68.47 strokes in 30 rounds, leading to nine top 9 finishes. His stroke average is well under the season school record set by Jamie Lovemark (70.10, 2007).

Win 1 – Suh captured his second career collegiate title and first of the season at the Trinity Forest Invitational at 10-under 203 (67-69-67).
Win 2 -- Suh won his second title this year at the Saint Mary's Invitational with a dominating 13-under 200 (67-66-67) – that included 15 birdies and an eagle – to close fall play.
Win 3 -- He won his third event of the season at the Amer Ari Invitational to open spring play, taking the title at 13-under 837 (69-66-68) while birdieing four of the final six holes, including 17 and 18.
Win 4 – Suh won again at the Southern Highlands Collegiate at 8-under 208 (68-70-70) for a two-stroke win, using an eagle on the 14^th hole in the final round to help clinch it.
Win 5 – Suh captured USC's 22nd Pac-12 individual title, while leading the Trojans to the team crown, with a 16-under 268 (68-64-65-71) to win by four strokes. Suh began the day with a six-stroke lead, found himself tied late on the back 9 and finished eagle-birdie-par-par.

Suh also tied for second at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invite at 12-under 201 (67-71-63). The final round was USC's best since Rico Hoey carded the same score at the Amer Ari Invitational last season. The last Trojan round lower belongs to Sam Smith, a 62 in the second round of the 2013 NCAA Pullman Regional. Suh's previous best was a 65 at the 2017 Pac-12 Championships.
Suh opened the season by tying for ninth in the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invite at even 210 (70-69-71), tied for fourth in the 36-hole Prestige at PGA West at 2-under 140 (71-69) and was fourth at the Western Intercollegiate at 8-under 202 (67-68-67), the fourth time this year he's broken 70 in each round.

Suh, the fifth-ranked amateur in the world, has 20 rounds in the 60s this season in 30 tries, including a mid-season streak of seven in a row. He also boasts 22 rounds under par and has 26 rounds of par or better.

Overall this year, Suh is 34-13-2 against the top 25, 72-19-3 against the top 50, 143-33-4 against the top 100 and 785-79-15 against all players. He now has 15 top 20 finishes in his last 17 outings dating back to last season, 13 of which have been inside the top 9 and 14 in the top 11.

Suh's five wins are the most by a Trojan on record, topping the most-recent four-win season of Jamie Lovemark, who did it as a 2007 freshman. Prior to that, Sam Randolph won four times in the 1983-84 season while Scott Simpson won four times in 1976-77 and 1974-75. Suh's 20 rounds under 70 are also the most since Lovemark had 20, also in 2007.

Thanks to his dominance, Suh won USC's ninth Pac-12 Player of the Year honor, USC's first since 2009. He was also tabbed All-Pac-12 first team for the second year in a row.

Suh's superb season, which has seen him nab Pac-12 Player of the Month honors four times, has come with a host of accolades, most recently being selected to among 30 semifinalists for the Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award. Suh is also among 10 semifinalists for the 2018 Ben Hogan Award and has been among the top 3 all season on the 2018 Haskins Award Watch List.

Suh has already earned a spot on the 2018 Arnold Palmer Cup team, announced March 14, where he'll follow in the footsteps of recent teammates Sean Crocker (2017) and Rico Hoey (2015). Other Trojans who have played in the Palmer Cup include Netherlands-native Tim Sluiter (2008), who represented Europe, Jamie Lovemark (2007) and Brian Hull in the first Cup in 1997. Zambri also led the U.S. to victory, 13-11, as the head coach in 2010.

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JUSTIN SUH & KAITO ONISHI CLAIM PAC-12 TOP YEAR-END HONORS
USC junior Justin Suh, a five-time winner this season, was named the 2018 Pac-12 Men's Golfer of the Year while Kaito Onishi, with four top 20 finishes, was tabbed as the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, the conference announced May 3. Suh, the 2018 conference champion, is USC's ninth Pac-12 Player of the Year, Onishi USC's seventh Freshman of the Year. The Pac-12's head coaches vote on all year-end honors.

Suh is USC's first Player of the Year since Matt Giles earned co-conference honors in 2009 two years after Jamie Lovemark (2007) also split the award. Giles and Lovemark also played for Zambri. Other Trojans who won the award include Kevin Stadler (2002), Sam Randolph (1984, 1986), Ron Commans (co-winner, 1981) and Scott Simpson (1976-77).

Onishi is USC's third Pac-12 Freshman of the Year in the last five years after Sean Crocker (2015) and Rico Hoey (2014) recently took home the distinction. Other USC Freshman of the Year winners T.J. Vogel (co-winner in 2010), Lovemark (2007), Ben Hayes (2002) and Hunter Mahan (2001). USC Head Coach Chris Zambri coached all but Hayes and Mahan.

USC WINS FIRST PAC-12 TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL TITLES SINCE 2011
USC, led by a closing 67 from freshman Issei Tanabe and junior Justin Suh, won its first Pac-12 team title since 2011 while Suh claimed the Trojans' first individual crown since the same year – both by four strokes – on the final day of the 2018 Pac-12 Men's Golf Championships at the Rolling Hills C.C. on Wednesday (April 25) in Rolling Hills Estates.

The Trojans, who finished the second and third rounds with five-stroke leads, built another double digit lead midway through the final round, saw it sliced to three shots, but held firm to win at 31-under 1389 (347-340-351-351) for its conference-best 20^th title. USC finished four ahead of Colorado and eight better than Arizona State.

In addition to Suh's title, freshman Kaito Onishi and sophomore Cheng Jin tied for 13^th while sophomore Ryan Slater tied for 19^th.

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TROJAN NOTES
Freshman Kaito Onishi (71.53), the 2018 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and selected to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team, is second on the team in stroke average. Onishi, who had a mid-season run of five straight rounds under 70, is second on the team with eight rounds in the 60s. Included in the early-season Arnold Palmer Cup rankings for the international team (15^th), he has a pair of top 4 finishes, four top 20s and seven results in the top 28.

Onishi tied for second at the Saint Mary's Invitational at 8-under 205 (73-63-69) -- his middle round tying Suh for low on the team – and then tied for fourth at the Amer Ari Invitational at 11-under 205 (69-66-68). He tied for 13^th at the Pac-12 Championships at 4-under 280 (75-64-71-70).

Sophomore Cheng Jin, third on the team with a 72.42 stroke average, has posted a par of trio of top 23 finishes this year, highlighted by a tie for 13^th at the 2018 Pac-12 Championships where he finished 4-under 280 (68-71-71-70). He also tied for for 20^th at the Southern Highlands Collegiate at 2-over 218 (70-76-72) and tied for 23^rd at the Nike Golf Collegiate, where he carded his season-low 67. Jin recorded a 17-stroke victory to win the PGA Tour Series-China Mainland China Qualifying Tournament on March 2 and earn a spot on the tour.

Sophomore Kyle Suppa (72.67) is fourth on the squad in stroke average and is third in rounds in the 60s (seven). He turned in a season best at Saint Mary's as he tied for sixth at 6-under 207 (75-68-64), his final round 7-under tying his collegiate best. He tied for 16^th at the Western Intercollegiate at 1-under 209 (69-69-71), tied for 20^th at the Trinity Forest Invitational at 1-over 214 (72-70-72) and has four top 33 finishes this year.

Sophomore Ryan Slater is averaging 73.05 strokes per round in 19 outings, including three rounds under 70. His season has been topped by his USC career-best effort at the Pac-12 Championships where he tied for 19^th at 2-under 282 (69-69-71-73). His next best effort this year was a tie for 42^nd at the Trinity Forest.

Onishi is among four newcomers on the team that also include freshmen Issei Tanabe and Owen Calvin-Smith as well as junior Sam Kim, who comes to USC after two years at New Mexico.

Tanabe has started in six of the last seven tournaments and has produced a 73.31 stroke average in 24 rounds with three rounds in the 60s. He has a pair of top 28 finishes, topped by his season-best tie for 23^rd at the Pac-12 Championships at 1-under 284 (70-73-73-67) where he closed with a Trojan career best 4-under final round.

Kim has averaged 73.43 strokes in 12 rounds this year (three in the 60s) Calvin-Smith has played in six rounds.

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Players Mentioned

Owen Calvin-Smith

Sean Crocker

Rico Hoey

Cheng Jin

Sam Kim

Kaito Onishi

Ryan Slater

Justin Suh

Kyle Suppa

Issei Tanabe