The last time the No. 22 Arizona men’s golf team played at the Eugene Country Club on Mar. 26-27, it finished third out of 12 teams.
Overcoming the 41-degree weather and pouring rain this time, the Wildcats may not be so lucky when they visit Eugene, Ore., for the Pacific 10 Conference Championships today through Wednesday.
If anything, the Wildcats will go to work under a favorable format. Thirty-six holes are scheduled for today and 18 each tomorrow and Wednesday on the par 72, 7,033-yard course.
“”I like that format,”” said UA head coach Rick LaRose. “”Last time we went up there, we played 36 holes in the first day and we did well, despite the pouring rain.””
Though the conditions are forecasted to be warmer and drier than when Arizona visited for the Oregon Duck Invitational, gray clouds will threaten overhead. The experience of playing the course in the past in less-than-perfect weather is very valuable to the team, LaRose said.
Making it tougher, half of the 10 teams are ranked in the nation’s top 25, including three in the top 10: No. 2 Stanford, No. 6 USC and No. 7 UCLA.
“”The Pac-10 Conference is by far the toughest conference in golf in the country,”” LaRose said. “”It’s not even a contest.””
The Ducks won the ASU Thunderbird Invitational last weekend, making it “”that much harder because their confidence will be higher,”” LaRose said.
“”The Pac-10
Conference is by far the toughest conference in golf in the country. It’s not even a contest.””
– Rick LaRose,
UA head coach
One advantage that every team has is playing by the “”six play, count five”” scoring system, where each team plays six golfers and the top five scores are tallied. This differs from the “”five play, count four”” system used during the regular season.
Arizona’s six are seniors Brian Prouty, Nathan Tyler, Josh Esler, Josh Wilks, freshman Pedro Oriol and junior Creighton Honeck, who is replacing Ben Fox as the sixth man.
“”It’s going to be a very difficult competition, but we’re ready for it,”” LaRose said.
Men’s golfer Oriol to compete for European team in Palmer Cup
Arizona men’s golfer Pedro Oriol has been selected to play in the 2007 Palmer Cup on June 7-8, the Golf Coaches Association of America announced Thursday.
The freshman from Madrid, Spain, will represent Europe under Netherlands head coach Chris van der Velde in the tournament at the Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. The event pits collegiate golfers from America and Europe.
Oriol has a 73.59 per-round stroke average through 29 rounds played in 2006-07, with two top-10 and two top-20 finishes for No. 22 Arizona. Ten of those 29 rounds have been played at par or better, with a low round of 68.
“”It takes a little adjustment for a guy, especially when you’re 8,000 miles away from home,”” UA head coach Rick LaRose said. “”But he’s adapted well here and all aspects of his game have come together.””
Oriol’s low tournament score of the season was a 2-under 214 at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational on April 13-15, when Arizona placed fifth.
“”Pedro is always working hard, always trying to improve,”” redshirt senior Nathan Tyler said in a March 24 phone interview. “”He goes off to a separate tee box in practice and works on his game. He’s all work.””
– Lance Madden
