The University of Arizona men’s golf team left the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational with a bad taste in its mouth.
Unlike the millions of people who head down to Orlando, Fla., to visit the ‘happiest place on earth,’ the Wildcats could never find their happy place in the Sunshine State.
“”Disappointing obviously,”” said assistant coach Andy Barnes. “”Expectations are always high and when you don’t meet them it’s disappointing.””
The team placed last out of the 15 teams at Isleworth, shooting 68-over-par as a team for the entire tournament.
“”It was a rough week,”” said senior Tarquin MacManus. “”You can’t be too impressed with a tournament when you finish right down at the bottom of the field. Pretty disappointing really.””
MacManus was the lone bright spot for the Wildcats as he finished in the top 10 for the second time this season. He placed in a tie for eighth and shot 4-over-par.
Inconsistency and a lack of depth have plagued the team all year. No other Wildcat finished in the top 50 for the tournament. Sophomore Trent Redfern shot 3-over-par which landed him in 56th place and fellow senior Jonathon Khan struggled and placed 64th.
“”We got to get the team playing better,”” Barnes said. “”One guy can’t carry the load.””
MacManus had a great first round shooting 3-under-par and put himself in a position to make his mark on the
tournament.
“”I thought it was a sign of maybe positive things to come but then the next few days were just awful,”” MacManus said. “”On the whole I am not overly upset with my performance, but I would have liked to do a little better.””
The coaching staff and the players have admitted to feeling frustrated to how the season has unfolded so far. The team has never gotten on the same page during a tournament and has relied heavily on MacManus and Khan.
“”We’re a college golf program with great tradition and high expectations,”” Barnes said. “”The kids for the most part will say the same thing too.””
MacManus agreed with Barnes and said, “”Yes, yeah we are getting frustrated. As much as you try not to get frustrated out there and try to look for the positives.
“”I think we just have to keep doing that and try and not to get frustrated. The more frustrated we get the more it’s probably not going to work out.””
The Wildcats have two weeks off to search for answers before the head to California for the Corde Valle Invitational.
