SPOKANE, Wash. - Fresh from a 10-day break from tournament play, Gonzaga University's men's golf team returns to action Friday at the fifth annual Brickyard Collegiate Golf Championship at the Brickyard at Riverside in Macon, Ga., hosted by Mercer University.
The three-day, 54-hole tournament will tee off 5:30 a.m. PDT Friday with 18 holes scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Bulldogs finished 14th in last year's event, and two members of this year's Zag squad return to play in one of collegiate golf's premiere events in sophomore Peter Gullickson, who tied for 37th, and junior Travis Johnsen, who tied for 25th. Johnsen tamed the 7,175-yard, par 72 layout with an opening-round 69 last season.
"The support and hospitality of this event is unmatched in any event we've ever played. To be a part of this spectacular event is really special," Gonzaga head coach Robert Gray said.
It's the toughest test the Bulldogs will face all season.
"This will be our toughest test of the year where we'll see Augusta State University, last year's runner-up in the tourney, and perennial powerhouses University of Georgia, last year's Brickyard champion and a three-time winner of the event, and Georgia Tech, along with a number of other solid teams.
The Bulldogs have only played 18 holes of competitive golf in the last 10 days after the first 36 holes of the Husky Kikkor Classic hosted by the University of Washington were rained out, leaving teams with just an 18-hole round.
"Originally I was planning on our event at Washington last week to be a good measure of how we're improving against a strong field. Unfortunately, with the 36-hole day rained out, we weren't able to see how we stack up against a solid field for 54 holes. Even though we only played 18 holes, we showed we could compete against strong teams on a tough course. I'm excited to get down there and play an amazing course against strong competition for 54 holes. I know the guys are excited to get down there and compete as well." Gray said.
This week's lineup will have Gullickson at No. 1, Johnsen at No. 2, redshirt freshman James Fahy at No. 3, freshman Brendan Connolly at No. 4 and freshman Erik Krzyzanowski at No. 5.
Gray is still looking for some top-to-bottom consistency and an ability to finish down the stretch from his squad.
"Big numbers hurt us down the stretch last week so that's been a focus this past week. In addition, mid and long irons will be important on this course so we've been spending extra time in that area. The course is comprised of Bermuda grass, which can be tricky to read, so that will be something we work on once we get on site," Gray said.
Despite having a young team, Gray is optimistic his newcomers will perform.
"The newcomers are beginning to get comfortable with all the 'changes' that come with college golf. This year we've played tough courses with significant changes in playing conditions each week. We practice locally at roughly 2,000 feet elevation. The first week they played at 5,000 feet on a wide open course were the ball flies quite a bit farther, then headed to sea level the next week with narrow fairways where club selection is very important. I know they had some issues getting use to the difference in how far to expect the ball to fly in our second event. The first two events were also played under dry conditions and last week they saw wet and cool conditions, which reduced the distance the ball carried even more," Gray noted.
The Bulldogs can expect more changes in the course and location this week.
"This week we face three significant changes; Bermuda grass, humidity and a 3-hour time change. Bermuda has a big impact on how they need to play various shots and read greens. The humidity will have an impact on how the ball flies as well as on the players themselves. The time change means we'll be getting up at 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. Pacific Time to head to the course. Getting used to all these types of changes week to week is usually more mentally challenging than physical. So, it's important to stay mentally tough to deal with these changes, resulting in positive results," Gray said.
Joining host Mercer, Gonzaga and the previously mentioned schools in the field are the College of Charleston, University of North Florida, Colorado State University, University of Mississippi, Air Force Academy, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Florida State University, Virginia Tech, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Texas-Arlington.
The Bulldogs will conclude the fall season Oct. 28-30 at the Cabo Intercollegiate hosted by Santa Clara University in Los Cabos, Mexico.
