On Monday, Jan. 29 the Wildcats returned to competitive play for the first time since November and wasted no time in shaking off the rust from the season break. Arizona finished day one of a two-day tournament in sole possession of third place. For a stretch of about three holes the ‘Cats were tied at second place with Texas A&M but by the end of the day Arizona ended up three shots back from second place.
Arizona had the advantage of hosting the tournament at their home course, Sewailo Golf Club. The ‘Cats showed their knowledge and familiarity with the course as they managed to score well. The sun was out with blue skies, but gusts of 30-40 m.p.h. early in the day gave trouble to the players competing. Arizona head coach Jim Anderson talked about the advantages of playing this tournament on their home turf.
“Playing at home is such a terrific advantage and it’s something that gives our team excitement. You know golf is of course a sport that you benefit from course knowledge, it’s not like a free-throw line that’s the same distance and you have a crowd. We know where to hit the ball and we know how to prepare” said coach Anderson.
Arizona also did well in the individual category. Freshman Tianlang Guan is currently the highest on the leaderboard for all Wildcats at eighth. For the better part of the day, Guan was sitting in fourth place in the individual category. He finished round one +4 and got to hole 14 of round two before play was suspended.
Play had to be suspended in the middle of round 2 due to darkness, meaning that teams will have to play about five to six holes to finish off round two and then will start round three on Tuesday. Players will tee off starting at 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning.
The ‘Cats got off to a tough start which had them in the middle of the pack for most of the first round but the afternoon proved to be Arizona’s time to move up the leaderboard.
“Today was an amazing test. Our team endured the ups and downs like everyone and have put ourselves in a good position. I am so impressed by the composure and guts showed in the afternoon. We have some areas to clean up but overall, I was very pleased with the way we played in very tough conditions. Tomorrow will be our best but we told the guys to keep their patience too,” coach Anderson said to Arizona Athletics.
Senior George Cunningham along with sophomore Brad Reeves were two players that helped Arizona climb the leaderboard. Both players are tied for 14th individually, bouncing back after a rough first round.
Stay tuned for more coverage and a tournament recap of the final day of the Arizona Intercollegiate.
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