After the dust settled on the inaugural Copper Cup, the Arizona men’s golf team suffered a one-point loss to the Arizona State Sun Devils with a final score of 12.5-11.5. Despite the Wildcats holding a slim lead going into the second day of action, the lead wasn’t enough to hold on to the win. 

“Our team battled until the very end today,” head coach Jim Anderson told Arizona Athletics. “This format lends itself to some emotional swings, and I thought we handled the moment well. Our team competed and pushed our opponent to the end but finished just short. We are definitely disappointed with this result, but we know we can learn. We have a great team, and we believe we will continue to be tough to beat this season.”

The difference was the day-two afternoon singles. Events with a format similar to the Ryder Cup, such as the Copper Cup, typically come down to the singles matchups during the final afternoon and the same was the case here. ASU won five out of the eight singles matchups and that was enough to propel them to victory.

Although the loss may sting, it was good practice for the national championships, which the team plans to be at later this year. They also have the opportunity to bounce back as they get set to host their home tournament the Arizona Intercollegiate at Sewailo Golf Club starting this Monday, Jan. 25.   

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