The University of Arizona men’s golf team had a statement performance at The Prestige Tournament. The Wildcats finished as the co-champions, tying with the University of North Carolina at the top of the leaderboard with both teams finishing at -4.
Not only did the team finish in first place, but senior Trevor Werbylo also finished in a tie for first, finishing the tournament at -4. Werbylo posted scores of 73-67-69 on the par 71 Norman Course at PGA West in La Quinta, California.
The field was stacked with high-level competition, including highly ranked Arizona State, Pepperdine University, Texas Tech and Southern Methodist University. Werbylo, who is one of the best college golfers in the country and will likely be playing professionally, was extremely humble when talking about his win after the final round.
“I played solid all day,” Werbylo said in a video posted on the team’s official Twitter. “I made a few mistakes, but I kept reminding myself to stay patient.”
The team is now No. 4 in the college golf rankings according to golfstat.com. Head coach Jim Anderson was confident in his team going into the tournament and remained confident the entire time. Anderson, like Werbylo, emphasized staying patient every day. Anderson had this to say after the second day of the competition.
“I think we are ready to put ourselves in a similar position tomorrow,” Anderson told Arizona Athletics. “We can’t wait to compete, but it will be important to stay patient throughout the round.”
They did stay patient, and it paid off in a big way for the team. Anderson also mentioned how happy he was with the win but also knew there still is more work to be done.
“It’s gonna be fun to enjoy this win right now and have a great ride home … but I know this group is really hungry,” Anderson said in a video posted on the team’s official Twitter. “They’re looking ahead as well.”
This is the first time since 2006 that the team has had multiple tournament wins in a season. Winning two tournaments is an amazing accomplishment but as coach Anderson stressed, this team has its eyes set on a bigger prize: the national championship.
Their quest for that national championship continues on Monday, March 1, when the team tees it up again at the Cabo Collegiate. The Cabo Collegiate will be played in San Antonio, Texas, at TPC San Antonio.
As of now, there has not been any news on how the winter storm that has hit Texas will impact the tournament. The field at the Cabo Collegiate is not quite as large as The Prestige but features some stiff competition. You can learn more about the tournament on the Cabo Collegiate website.
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