SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – University of San Francisco head men's golf coach Jack Kennedy is proud to announce the signing of five new student-athletes for the program's 2022 recruiting class: Jakob Melin of Askim, Norway, Renato Naula of Guayaquil, Ecuador, Ben Partridge of Tadworth, U.K., Taehoon Park of the Republic of Korea and Jackson Rothwell of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 
 
Coming to the Hilltop from Katrinelunds Elitidrotts Gymasium in Göteberg, Sweden, Melin will make an immediate impact for the Dons. As a previous member of the Swedish National Boys Team, Melin enjoyed success at some of the biggest international junior stages including finishing as the runner up in the 2021 Spanish International U18 Stroke Play with rounds of 70-70-67-68 (-13) and in ninth place at the 2021 German Boys Open firing 66-74-71 (-5). He was also previously received the Best Male Junior Golfer award three years in a row (2019-21) while playing at Gothenburg Golf Club, where he also set a course record of 62 at the Club. 
 
Melin, the soon to be freshman on the Hilltop, has shown strong play over the summer in 2022, which includes finishing third at the Hovas Open in Sweden and a fourth place finish at the JSM Slag at Landeryds Golfklubb. 
 
"Jakob comes from the same Swedish national program that we have had success with," said Kennedy. "Jakob is a very solid and consistent golfer with the ability to take it very low and his passion to be great on and off the course really excites us about his time coming up at USF."
 
Naula, who is coming from Unidad Educativa Monte Tabor Nazaret in Samborondón, Ecuador, comes to USF with an impressive record as he was named the Number One Junior player in Ecuador from 2018 through 2020 and multiple starts on PGA Tour Latin America. Additionally, he went on to represent Ecuador five times in the South American Junior Championships, leading the team to its first championship in 2021 also bringing home a silver medal in both 2017 and 2018. While in high school, he was awarded the best athlete award at his high school. Academically, he also received recognition for being in the top nine of his class in GPA and was awarded special honors for his academic merit.
 
Alongside Melin, Naula has seen success over this summer with three top five finishes in Ecuador, including finishng as the runner-up at the Albierto Amateur and winning the Gira Junior at Lacosta CC by firing 69-72-73. 
 
"We are very lucky to have found Renato," said Kennedy. "He is a proven winner all over South America. He has tremendous work ethic and dedication to always improve. He will only get better and make his teammates better." 
 
Transferring from Hutchinson Community College, Partridge will make an immediate impact for the Dons as he comes to USF after being crowned a NJCAA National Champion both with his team and individually. In his time at Hutchinson, he was awarded NJCAA Player and Freshman of the Year while also earning First Team Ping All-American Honors and Second Team All-American Honors. Notably, Partridge also became the first person in history to win the NJCAA Preview Tournament and National Championship in the same year. During his high school career at St. Andrew's Catholic School in Leatherhead, England, Partridge was named the 2018 Player of the Year as well as being selected as the Outstanding Teammate of the Year. Impressively, he also guided his team to back-to-back Surrey schools team championships as well as a second-place finish in the England school team championship.
 
Partridge has continued his hot play back home over this summer, notably finishing as the runner-up at the South East England Championship (68-66). Overall, he also tied for sixth at the Walton Heath Trophy (75-70-69-72) and tied for eleventh at the Tillman Trophy (69-71-72-74). 
 
"We are extremely excited to welcome Ben to the USF family," said Kennedy. "Ben's golf pedigree speaks for himself with winning a national championship and competing at high level all over the world! Ben comes from a wonderful family and will be a great addition to our community." 
 
Park, who hails from the Republic of Korea, will join the Dons as the third member of the 2022 freshman class after spending time at The Crenshaw School in Buena Vista, Georgia. In his amateur competitions, Park has competed in several international Junior Championships and holds seven top ten finishes.
 
"Taehoon has amazing natural talent," said Kennedy. "If he continues to improve and believe in his abilities, he can be a real asset to our program. We can't wait to get Taehoon on campus!"
 
Traveling to the Bay Area from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachuseets, Rothwell enjoyed success at the junior college as he was named the CAC Player of the Month in Fall of 2019 and a GCAC All-American in 2022. Ranked fourth in the nation in Division III, Jackson competed in the 2022 NCAA Division III Championship, where he finished as the low individual for his team by tying for thirteenth overall, which gave the Beavers their best finish as a team since 1982.  In high school, Rothwell was a dual-sport athlete who competed in both golf and rugby at St. Michael's University School in Victoria, British Columbia.
 
Rothwell is recently coming off a playoff-victory in the 120th British Columbia Amateur, where he recorded rounds of 67-67-66-73 (-15) to be crowned champion for the second time in his career. 
 
"Jackson was a late transfer from back east," said Kennedy. "He has had success as a junior golfer in Canada and will now try to make a mark at USF. Jackson has a great head on his shoulders, combined with a great work ethic so we are excited to see him grow!"
 
USF will also return graduate student Matthew Anderson and sophomores Harry Brown and Paramdeep Sodhi in 2022-23 as the Dons aim to reach the NCAA Regionals for the third consecutive year.
 
For updates and more information on the University of San Francisco men's golf program, please follow the Dons @USFDonsMensGolf on Twitter, @USFDonsGolf on Instagram and @USFDonsMensGolf on Facebook.