Huskies Ready for Pac-12 Championships Starting Monday
SEATTLE – The University of Washington men's golf team starts the postseason this week as it heads to the 2021 Pac-12 Championships, Monday-Wednesday, April 26-28, hosted at the par-72, 6,785-yard Mayacama Golf Club in Santa Rosa, Calif. The 2020 Pac-12 Championships, which were to be hosted by the Huskies a year ago, were canceled due to COVID. The 6-count-5 event will be played in four rounds, with two on Monday starting at 7 a.m., 18 holes on Tuesday with a 10 a.m. start and the final round on Wednesday, teeing off at 7:30 a.m.
COACH MURRAY ON THE PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
"We are really looking forward to the Pac-12 Championships which is obviously one of the biggest events of the year and I believe we are heading into the event in a positive fashion. The guys have steadily improved as the year has gone on and our results have reflected that. Everyone's game is in good shape and we've had numerous guys contend in tournaments individually without getting any wins yet, which is similar to the team's season."
We hope that this week sees us getting over the finish line as a team and also individually obviously. We don't have any experience on this golf course so the practice round is going to be important to gather as much information as we can, but with five par-3's out there, that could be important and is an asset as we have a good ball striking team. The par-5's will be important as always and there are five at Mayacama so capitalizing on this is going to be another key area."
"Everyone in our lineup is important this week and is capable of a big performance so it is a matter of can we do it when it counts. We will lean heavily on the more experienced guys – Henry, Noah, Jan – but the possibility of the younger guys to playing well and being big contributors this week is quite high as Petr, Teddy and Taehoon are very accomplished players that are all playing very well right now."
THE FIELD (GolfWeek Rankings): Arizona State (8), Arizona (19), Stanford (39), Oregon State (47), Utah (52), USC (53), Washington (56), Oregon (62), Colorado (71), California (90), UCLA (102), Washington State (113).
THE LINEUP: The Huskies will send six players to the Pac-12 Championships for the 6-count 5 format: senior Noah Woolsey, senior Henry Lee, freshman Teddy Lin, sophomore Petr Hruby, freshman Taehoon Song and senior Jan Schneider. This is the second-straight 6-count-5 event the Huskies have competed in this season.
SEASON RECAP: After nearly a year between competitions the Huskies returned to the course in January of 2021 and while their first three starts showed a little rust – a tie for 14th, sixth and 13th place finishes – UW found its stride over the last five events, not finishing below fourth. UW individuals have posted six top 10 finishes, led by senior Henry Lee's three top 10 showings. Washington earned a third-place showing at the Lamkin Grips Classic, followed by back-to-back fourth-place efforts at the Duck Invitational and The Goodwin. Next up was UW's best finish of the year, placing second at the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational and a fourth-place finish to wrap up the regular season at the Western Intercollegiate. The Huskies have moved up the rankings throughout the season and are currently No. 56 by GolfWeek.
LAST TIME OUT: Washington recorded it's fifth-straight top-five effort of the season with it's fourth-place showing at the 74th annual Western Intercollegiate. The Huskies placed three student-athletes in the top 25 led by senior Noah Woolsey who tied for 11th. It was Woolsey's fourth top-15 showing of the year after leading the team with 38 pars during the 54-hole tournament. Sophomore Petr Hruby tied for 13th, his highest finish of the year, as he turned in a 3-over 213. Senior lee also placed in the top 25 as he tied for 23rd.
LEE MOVING UP IN THE RECORD BOOK: With his tie for second at the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational, senior Henry Lee posted his 14th career top 10 performance. This moves him into a tie for sixth all-time in the storied and prestigious Husky record book. The all-time record of 32 is held by Brock Mackenzie but sitting in seventh puts him just five top 10 efforts out of the top five of 18 held by Rob Rashell. He is now tied with Trevor Simsby.
WOOLSEY BACK IN FORM: Senior Noah Woolsey, who was named to the PING All-American Honorable Mention team a year ago, has picked up where he left off, leading the Huskies in five of eight events this season and leads the team with a 71.67 stroke average. Most recently he tied for 11th at the Western Intercollegiate and prior to that he turned in a fifth-place showing at the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational for his seventh career top five finish with his 3-under 211 on the prestigious Chambers Bay Golf Course. He has also finished tied for second, 33rd, 28th, 14th and 24th this year while posting four 54-hole scorecards under par in seven events.
UW AND SAHALEE ANNOUNCE SAHALEE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP: The University of Washington and Sahalee Country Club have announced a partnership for the start of a new collegiate event, the Sahalee Players Championship which will start in September of 2023. The tournament, which was formerly an amateur summer event at Sahalee, will feature some of the most storied programs in the country. Oklahoma State, Texas, Arizona State, Pepperdine, Stanford, USC, Illinois, Florida, Wake Forest, Duke, and of course host Washington are all expected to compete.
LAST SEASON'S SUCCESS: The Huskies made their name known on the national scene last season, moving up to as high as No. 11 in the nation with their performances. Washington only finished below third in one of eight events. They took home team championships at the Husky Invitational, the Old Town Intercollegiate, the Georgetown Intercollegiate and the Seminole Invitational. They also placed second at the Ka'anapali Collegiate and the Bandon Dunes Championship while finishing third at the Arizona Intercollegiate. Additionally, three different student-athletes brought home individual titles throughout the season.
WHAT'S BACK: The Huskies return the majority of the top of their lineup from a year ago in seniors Noah Woolsey, Jan Schneider and Henry Lee, who was given an extra year due to last season being cut short due to COVID-19. Additionally, Washington returns sophomores Petr Hruby and Nate Anderson. Woolsey, Lee and Schneider all won tournaments as individuals last season. Woolsey was on the PING All-American Honorable Mention Team and won three individual titles to lead the team.
WHO'S NEW: Washington welcomes three newcomers to the team this year in Teddy Lin, Taehoon Song and Robert Galligan. Lin, from New Taipei City, Taiwan, comes to the Dawgs after being ranked as high as 113 by the WAGR. Song, originally from South Korea, but competed at Anaheim Discovery Christian (California) won the AJGA Junior in April of 2019 and has been ranked as high as fifth in the AJGA rankings. Galligan crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Ireland to join the UW squad. He was a standout member of the Irish Boys team and had success on the junior circuit in Ireland before coming over to the U.S.
SPRING SCHEDULE: Head coach Alan Murray's Huskies opened the spring campaign at the Arizona Intercollegiate before heading to Waimea, Hawaii to take part in the 30th Amer Ari Intercollegiate (Feb. 2-24). The Dawgs followed that by competing at the Gators Invitational (Feb. 12-14). Washington then headed to the Lamkin Invitational, March 8-9, hosted by San Diego State before taking on the Duck Invitational, March 22-23 in Eugene. Following The Goodwin, hosted by Stanford, March 25-27, Washington heads to the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational, March 29-30 in a busy week at Chambers Bay. The Dawgs will close the regular season at the Western Intercollegiate, April 12-14 in Santa Cruz, California. The Pac-12 Championships will be played in Santa Rosa, California, April 26-28. Washington is hosting an NCAA Regionals Site at Tumble Creek Golf Club in Cle Elum, May 16-19.