Collegiate golfers take on Green Hills

Pepperdine has all but owned the event since its inception in 2023. The Waves won a share of the team title, along with Stanford, in the inaugural event in 2023, with Lion Higo winning the individual championship.

Last year, Pepperdine won the team title outright, with Jeneath Wong winning the individual crown. Wong, a junior from Australia, returns this year to defend her title.

“Pepperdine was so dominant (last year) that they had pretty much won the tournament after the first day,” said Wanda Guttas, tournament director.

While Stanford is back after missing last season, it is only sending a couple of golfers because of a competing tournament in Texas in which the Cardinal will play. Andrea Revuelta is ranked No. 39 in the nation, while Leigh Chien is No. 84. Both freshmen will be competing at Silicon Valley Showcase.

Guttas was told by the Stanford coach that since many of her players will be participating in the Augusta National Women’s Amateur next week, “She wanted her golfers to get some time on another Alister MacKenzie course (who designed both Augusta National, home of The Masters, and Green Hills).”

Three other players ranked in the top 100 who will participate include Kansas State’s Carla Bernat (No. 22), Pepperdine’s Lauren Gomez (No. 57) and San Francisco’s Rianna Mission (No. 72).

Events begin Sunday with an 18-hole college-am event, followed by a “welcome” dinner and a guest speakers. This year there will be three guest speakers — Santa Clara University soccer legend Brandi Chastain, who is also part of the membership group of the Bay FC soccer club. Joining her are a couple of former Division I golfers who parlayed their golf success into successful careers in finance.

Guttas said many of the coaches and players appreciate hearing from former collegiate athletes who used their experiences in college athletics and translated those skills into their careers.

Monday, the actual tournament begins with a long day of 36 holes, using a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. The tournament concludes Tuesday with 18 holes.

Tickets to Monday’s and Tuesday’s rounds are free, but you need to go to the tournament website, thesiliconvalleyshowcase.com, to get your tickets. You must have a ticket to gain access to the tournament.

The Silicon Valley Showcase has quickly become one of the premiere women’s events on collegiate golf schedule, due to the strength of the field, the challenge of the Alister MacKenzie-designed Green Hills Country Club course and the event organizers who put on a world-class event. An undulating and tight course with small greens, the tournament is a shot maker’s event, with a premium placed on accuracy and putting the ball in the fairway.

“It’s a tough three days for them,” Guttas said. “It’s a tough track.”

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Speaking of golf and The Players Championship, Isaiah Salinda, a 2015 Serra graduate, made his first appearance at the unofficial fifth “major” on the professional golf tour.

After toiling in the minor leagues for several years after graduating Stanford in 2019, Salinda earned his PGA Tour card for the 2025 season after finishing in the top 30 on the Korn Ferry Tour — the PGA’s triple-A tour.

He opened the 2025 season by missing the cut during the two-event Hawaii swing, but since then has made the cut in five straight events, finishing third at the Mexico Open last month.

He’s certainly taken a step up in competition since then. He tied for 39th at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches, which features the infamous “Bear Trap” at PGA National in Palm Beach County, Florida. He finished tied for 45th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks ago in Orlando and made the cut at the Players this past weekend, finishing 68th.

He shot a 3-under 69 in the first round, followed with a 1-under 71 Friday to make the cut. He ballooned on the weekend, however, posting back-to-back rounds of 6-over 78s to finish at plus-8 for the tournament.

While he was closer to last than first, he did finish ahead of Rickie Fowler (71st, +12) and Xander Schauffele (72nd, +13). Both Fowler and Schauffele are former California state champions — Fowler won the 2006 CIF state title out of Murietta Valley High School, while Schauffele won the 2011 CIF crown out of Scripps Ranch-San Diego.

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And I have one more golf-adjacent highlight, but in a sport other than golf.

James Lee, a senior at Nueva School and one of the top junior golfers in the state and committed to play at Princeton University, excels in another sport, as well — ice hockey.

Last month, he helped his club team, San Francisco Sabercats, to the Northern California championship, securing a spot in the state tournament.

Over the weekend, Lee helped the Sabercats to the California Amateur Hockey Association state high school club 2B championship in Anaheim. He potted the game-winning goal in sudden-victory overtime over Los Gatos, a breakaway that he roofed to set off a wild celebration with his teammates — including Colin Chan and Daniel Caruso, both from Burlingame High School.

Nathan Mollat is in his 24th year covering high school sports in San Mateo County for the San Mateo Daily Journal. He can be reached by email: nathan@smdailyjournal.com.