2022 PacWest Championship (Final Results)

LITCHFIELD PARK, Ariz. – A solid final round from Academy of Art men's golf junior Matthew Watkins helped him cement his top-10 finish at the Pacific West Conference Championship, coming in seventh place at 8-over-par 224 while ART U maintained it's fifth place positioning with a final combined score of 53-over-par 917. 

Both Watkins and the Urban Knights held firm on the leaderboard, leaving the final round of the conference tournament in the same place that they entered. For Watkins, he turned in the lowest ART U round of the day with a 4-over-par 76, dropping one birdie on each of the front and back nine. This is now Watkins' 12th top-10 finish in his career, further extending his ART U record, and additionally he was named to the PacWest All-Tournament Team for the third time in his career.

Just outside the top 10 with the best finish of his Urban Knights career was freshman Jack DeBenedetti, tying for 13th place at 13-over-par 229. He used another 11 par saves on the day to end his final round at 7-over-par 79, and was one of the most consistent players with a total of 35 par saves which was second most in the tournament field. Trailing slightly behind DeBendetti was fellow freshman Anson Pan in a tie for 15th place at 16-over-par 232, while freshman Giulio Zanichelli rounded out the scoring in a tie for 23rd place at 20-over-par 236. 

Not separated after 54 holes, there was a playoff to determine the tournament's team winner between Hawaii Pacific and UH Hilo after the two schools each combined for a 35-over-par 899. Ultimately, the title would go to the Sharks after they were able to defeat the Vulcans by two strokes in a playoff. 

Keep www.ARTUAthletics.com bookmarked for all the latest ART U men's golf news in preparation for the 2022-23 season.