Arizona men’s golf is back in action on Monday at Seattle University’s Redhawk Invitational.
The tournament will take place at the Chambers Bay golf course in Seattle. Chambers Bay is scheduled to be the home of the 2015 U.S. Open Championship.
Since the tournament is taking place in the state of Washington, weather could become a factor, and it is something sophomore Kolton Lapa said he believes the team will be ready for.
“It’s been really windy at Sewailo where we practice, and I feel like that is helping us get ready for Chambers Bay,” Lapa said. “It’s going to be kind of windy and rainy. Not exactly the best conditions, so it is preparing us really well.”
The team has not played at Chambers Bay prior to this tournament, but that does not have Lapa concerned.
“A lot of the guys are seasoned players, and we’ve dealt with it before,” Lapa said. “We’ve dealt with not seeing a course before. We are going to get there a day early, get a good practice round in, see the course and talk about where we’re going hit off of each tee.”
This tournament will feature teams from all over the nation, including UCLA, Boise State, Northern Colorado, North Carolina State and St. John’s University.
The Redhawk Invitational will begin Monday, instead of being played over the weekend.
“It’s going to be kind of nice not to have any school work over the weekend, and mentally get ready for a tournament that starts Monday,” Lapa said.
Due to the change of schedule, the format has also changed, forcing the teams to play 36 holes of golf in one day.
“If you’re having a bad day, it can affect you,” Lapa said. “If you get some putts rolling in and get some good momentum and hit the ball really well, the 36-hole day flies by, because you’re hitting the ball so great and you have a lot of momentum and you just want to keep scoring well.”
There has been a change to the lineup for this tournament, and it will feature senior Erik Oja, senior Benson Liu, senior Parker Houston, junior Alex McMahon and sophomore Lapa.
The tournament will begin at 8 a.m. PDT on Monday, with the final round teeing off at 8 a.m PDT on Tuesday morning.
—Follow Fernando Galvan @fgalvan35
