After a first half of the season that didn’t quite live up to its previous expectations, the Arizona men’s golf team is looking to move forward and build on its preceding experiences.
“”The first half of the season didn’t go as well as we thought it would,”” said Creighton Honeck, the senior leader of the young team.
The PING-Intercollegiate tournament is a two day 54 hole event that covers 6,900 yards and is a par 71. The first 36 holes will be played on Monday and the final 18 will be held on Tuesday.
The Wildcats had high expectations for their season early in the fall, but a rough start at Purdue back in September to open the season – finishing ninth of 16 teams – delayed their plans to be a top-10 competitor in the NCAA.
The struggles continued for the team that put on poor performances in back-to-back tournaments following the opener with two eight place finishes at Albuquerque and Las Vegas.
The Wildcats struggled at the end of the fall, continuing their disappointing play on the East Coast, finishing 17th shooting 32-over par at Isleworth in Orlando, Fla. The Wildcats also finished 7th with a 1-over par at Long Beach in the Del Walker Intercollegiate and 8th shooting a 22-over par at the Corde Valley Intercollegiate in San Martin, Calif.
As the Wildcats enter into this tournament, they feel their chances of competing are very high because they are hosting the tournament. But, as assistant coach John Knauer said, “”You always expect to play good at your home tournament because you know the pitfalls of the golf course. However, due to the added pressure, a lot of home teams lose more than they win.””
The tournament is going to be an important one that could be an indicator for many teams as to where their seasons are headed. The competition seems fairly wide open to any team as there are no teams that stand out far above the rest.
“”It wouldn’t surprise me the least if any team lit it up in the sky during this tournament,”” Knauer said.
The Wildcats are going to need to show up big this tournament if they want their second half of the season to be better than the first. Honeck summed up the Wildcast attitude for this tournament perfectly.
“”It is obviously a fresh start for us, but you can’t have too many start overs.””
