WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The quest for a second national championship begins on Monday for No. 8 Arizona Men's Golf at the NCAA West Lafayette Regional at Purdue University. The second seeded Wildcats will take on 12 other programs in the field at Kampen-Cosler Course inside the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex for a berth at the NCAA Championships at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California.
"We've had great preparation and practice getting ready for NCAA Regionals, and now it's time to go out there in attack mode," said head coach
Jim Anderson. "We've played tournaments in nearby Michigan and Illinois already this season, which gives our team a little more experience and knowledge of these Midwest golf environments. We've carded some great rounds of golf all year with a number of wins to show for it. This week is all about focusing on the moment and playing at the standard of Arizona Golf."
NCAA Regionals will bring the Cats to the Midwest for a third time this season after competing at the Folds of Honor in Grand Haven, Michigan and the Fighting Illini Invitational in Olympia Fields, Illinois during the fall portion of the schedule. Sophomore
Filip Jakubcik was Arizona's top golfer in those trips that included a fourth-place finish at the Folds of Honor. As the No. 2 seed in West Lafayette, Arizona enters the week with its best seeding in NCAA Regionals since being the second seed at the 2001 Oregon State Regional.
Coach Anderson will utilize a five-man lineup this week that includes
Tiger Christensen,
Filip Jakubcik,
Zach Pollo,
Sam Sommerhauser and
Johnny Walker. The Arizona lineup has accounted for three individual victories this season on top of another 10 top-10 finishes. The trio of Christensen, Jakubcik and Pollo all earned All-Pac-12 Second Team honors last week as well.
Arizona won the NCAA Bryan Regional at Texas A&M two seasons ago for its seventh NCAA Regionals championship in program history with Sommerhauser and Walker playing in the title run.
NCAA Regionals format is 54 holes played over three days with each team counting their four lowest scores each round. The five programs with the lowest scores, in addition to the two individuals with the lowest scores from non-advancing teams, will advance to the NCAA Championships.
