Sept. 28, 2008
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Gonzaga University's men's golf team finally tees off the 2008-09 season Monday and Tuesday at the Saint Mary's Invitational at Poppy Hills Golf Course.
Two true newcomers and a sophomore who played sparing as a freshman will join a pair of veterans for the season opener.
Sophomore Kyle Huus of Sidney, Neb., and junior Derek Cheney of Richland, Wash., are the veterans. Sophomore Francis Santiago of Lynnwood, Wash., saw limited action a year ago.
They will be joined by freshman Oliver Grabb of Boulder, Colo., who will play number one in this tournament, and Jason Azzarito of Kettle Falls, Wash., who joined the Bulldogs from the Community Colleges of Spokane late in the summer.
Gonzaga head coach Robert Gray, beginning his 10th year as head coach but just his second year as head men's coach only after relinquishing the women's duties a year ago, said his team has been playing well in qualifying.
"We're hitting the ball well, but it's a matter of seeing how they do when something is on the line. We have to go out and play and see how we stack up," Gray said.
He said while most of the teams in the tournament have played at least one, if not two, tournaments this fall, the fact his team hasn't played competitively yet could work one of two ways.
"The guys are hungry to play," Gray said. "But at the same time they haven't had that one outing. Plus, we have three guys who haven't really played Division I golf. I'm certain there will be some butterflies and you hope they get over that quickly."
Of the 16 teams in the tournament, one has particular ties to the Bulldogs.
The University of Nebraska is that team that has a quirky connection to the Bulldogs - Cheney and Azzarito in particular.
The Cornhuskers' Brandon Crick, a native of McCook, Neb., wore the Bulldog colors the last two seasons, earning West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year honors in 2007. But late this summer Crick decided to return to Nebraska and play for the Cornhuskers.
While it left Cheney without a college roommate, it opened a spot on the roster for Azzarito.
And, as fate would have it, the Cornhuskers and Bulldogs are paired for Monday's 36 holes. Cheney's playing partner? You guessed it. Crick.
"I think they'll be fine with each other," Gray said Sunday afternoon as the Bulldogs were wrapping up their practice round. "We haven't seen Brandon yet but I don't think there will be any hard feelings. He got along well with the team. I think our guys were kind of shocked when they found out he was leaving, but he has a lot of friends who stayed in Nebraska to play golf and he wanted to go back home and finish his career with them."
Gray said the biggest challenge is keeping his team focused.
"We're in Pebble Beach and they can't get their minds wandering that this is where all of the big boys play," Gray said of the famed Poppy Hills course. "The thing I'm interested in is seeing where we stack up with the conference guys. Saint Mary's lost some good players, Loyola Marymount lost one or two good players and San Francisco played well last week in their first tournament."
Gray is optimistic entering the season.
"Everybody seems to be hitting the all well, their short games are good and overall this might be one of the best teams we've had coming into the season," Gray said.
The Poppy Hills layout will be a 6,833-yard, par 72 layout.
The weather is expected to see highs in the upper 60's, light winds and a 10 percent chance of rain, although Gray said it was extremely foggy Sunday morning when the Bulldogs walked the course prior to their afternoon practice round.
"If it's that foggy Monday we may not get started on time," Gray said.
