Weber State University Athletics
Hall of Fame - Carito Villaroman
3/17/2015 7:47:00 PM | Wildcat Club
Carito Villaroman
Men's Golf (1986-1989))
Inducted October 2011
Carito Villaroman enjoyed a stellar golf career at Weber State, capped by a third-place finish at the 1986 NCAA Men's Golf Championships. The finish is the highest-ever in Weber State and Big Sky Conference men's golf history.
Villaroman, a native of Quezon City, Philippines, came to Weber State in 1986 and immediately announced his presence by earning All-Big Sky Conference First Team honors.
Competing in the 1986 NCAA Division I Tournament at Bermuda Run Country Club in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Villaroman recorded rounds of 73-70-70-74 to wind up third behind Oklahoma State's Scott Verplank in the tournament. It is the best finish by a Big Sky athlete at the NCAAs.
Villaroman was the No. 1 golfer for the Wildcats all four years he played. He was a four-year letter-winner and earned All-Big Sky Conference honors during those years the tournament was contested. He finished his career with a career per round stroke average of 73.52.
He finished sixth in the conference tourney in 1986, finishing with a 69 in the final round, tied for the best round in the tourney. That was the only season in his career that the Big Sky sponsored men's golf.
As a Wildcat, Villaroman finished in the top 10 in nearly event he competed. Longtime WSU head coach Mac Madsen one of the top two players ever to play at Weber State.
Carito started playing golf at the age of seven, soon after his father began taking him onto the nine-hole course in Ilagan. He enjoyed a great junior golf career before even coming to Weber State. In 1984, Villaroman won the 1984 Philippines National Amateur Championship. He also represented the Philippines in the Asian Games in 1987.
Villaroman was a wo-time winner of the Optimist Junior World Championships in 1985 and 1986 in San Diego. He was named to the 1986 NCAA vs. Japan Five-Man Team competition, played in Tokyo, and advanced to the final four at the 1986 US. Junior Championship.
En route to the 1986 Optimist Junior World title, at Torrey Pines in San Diego, Villaroman posted a four-round score of 15-under par, breaking the tournament record by seven shots. He won the tournament by 11 shots, with Phil Mickelson finishing second.
Following his WSU career, he qualified for the PGA Asian Tour in 1989.