Bayley shines at conference tourney

PULLMAN - Freshman Derek Bayley led the Washington State men's golf team, finishing tied for 15th at the Pac-12 Championships on Wednesday at Palouse Ridge Golf Course.

The finish is the best by a WSU freshman at the conference championships in school history. As a team, the Cougars finished 10th in a field that featured eight teams in the national Top 25 rankings, concluding the tournament with a 377 in the fourth round, and 1,453 overall.

Bayley - a two-time state 4A medalist at Lakeland High in Rathdrum - provided consistency for the Cougars in the morning, carding par on 11 of his first 12 holes to finish the day 4-over (74). Coupled with a three-round 209 (-1), Bayley finished 3-over (283) and tied for 15th place.

Stanford's Maverick McNealy took home individual medalist honors with a Pac-12 Championships record 362 (-18) and broke the Palouse Ridge collegiate record, firing a fourth round 61 (-9).

"Hopefully Derek understands how good he really is," WSU coach Garrett Clegg said. "Golf is a game where belief is a big hurdle. He's every bit as good as a lot of these guys. He just stumbled. He's got a ton of growth and golf knowledge to learn, but he's come a long way."

Washington State finished six strokes ahead of Colorado and seven back from Arizona in eighth place. Stanford won its second straight tournament title, shooting 4-under (1,396).

The Cougars will await the NCAA's selection of teams and individuals selected to compete in the 2015 NCAA Division I Men's Golf Regionals May 14-16.