Shieh Shines at WCC Golf Tournament

Junior Hayden Shieh has best finish in school historyBo KendallThe Santa ClaraApril 26, 2017Hayden Shieh had the highest ever finish by an Santa Clara men’s golfer at the West Coast Conference championships. Shieh lost in a playoff hole last weekend at the Riverside Country Club in Provo, Utah.Shieh shot 11-under par at 205 and ended up tied with Brigham Young’s Peter Kuest, leading the Broncos to a fourth overall team finish. He came up just short of being the first individual Bronco to ever win the WCC championship after falling in the playoff. But his tied for first finish was the best in school history.After ending tied at -11, Shieh and Kuest returned to the 18th for a one hole playoff. Things went wrong for Shieh on the second shot, hitting into the fringe. “I just got too aggressive,” said Shieh. “I knew par would extend it to another hole, so I tried to make birdie instead of making par. ” Shieh missed his par putt after chipping onto the green in his third shot. Kuest two-putted for par to win the championship. "After finishing so close to winning all spring, it was nice to see him get into a playoff and at least tie for first," Santa Clara head coach Rob Miller said. "He's been knocking at the door all year. It's been impressive watching him play, he's been focused."Shieh did not reflect the same sentiment as his coach, instead expressing frustration at coming up short rather than putting his achievement in perspective“It feels good but I am a little disappointed I couldn’t get a win for the school,” Shieh said. “It’ll keep bugging me for the next few weeks.” Shieh was named first team All-WCC for the third consecutive year on Wednesday, while teammate Derek Ackerman was named honorable mention All-WCC. Ackerman tied a career best by shooting a 68 on Saturday at the WCC championships, helping him crack a top ten finish by tying for ninth at -3.  “Derek’s been working really hard this year and it shows,” Shieh said.Next up for Shieh is the NCAA Regional Tournament. The only realistic way for him to qualify for the National Championships would be winning the tournament and qualifying as an independent player without the rest of his team. Shieh will most likely go to Stanford for his regional site to play the Stanford Golf Course where he has tremendous experience. Shieh shot as low as 64 on the course. The selections will be announced on Thursday, May 4, although Shieh has already qualified. Other regional sites are in Indiana, Texas, Tennessee, Louisiana and Washington. Shieh said the last thing he needs to work on before regionals begin is working out a plan for the course before beginning the round, which he normally does not do.  Contact Bo Kendall at bkendall@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.