RJ Manke and strong supporting cast look to give UW men’s golf a Pac-12 title in front of home fans

Two a long time after it was initially scheduled, the No. 8 Washington men’s golf group is internet hosting the a few-day Pac-12 championships this 7 days, beginning Monday.

Washington was set to host the championships in 2020 at Seattle Golfing Club, but the celebration was canceled simply because of COVID-19. So UW’s convert was pushed back to 2022.

With Seattle Golf Club unavailable, the Huskies are hosting the party at Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish.

“We are massively thrilled,” explained UW mentor Alan Murray. “It has been a extended time coming. … We are definitely honored that Aldarra agreed to host. It is a championship-caliber class and this is one of the very best higher education tournaments in the world of golfing. It’s excellent to have some of the most effective groups coming here to compete. And we’re participating in in entrance of our dwelling supporters, which doesn’t materialize also normally in college golfing.”

The Huskies must have a property-course edge. Senior star RJ Manke reported the workforce plays two or 3 times a 7 days at Aldarra.

“There are a handful of pictures that could possibly appear overwhelming to an individual who only gets to see it at the time in a exercise spherical,” Manke explained.

If Washington experienced hosted the party in 2020, it would not have experienced Manke to count on. Manke, from Lakewood, was a junior at Pepperdine that year.

In 2021, he assisted Pepperdine gain a nationwide title. Given an more time of eligibility for the reason that of COVID-19, Manke resolved to use it at Washington, joining a long listing of spouse and children customers who are Huskies.

“It has been pretty fantastic all close to and I could not talk to for a better knowledge,” he claimed.

He unquestionably has thrived in competition. Manke was the nation’s No. 1 faculty participant for a lot of the year, and has two wins and a amazing 8 leading-3 finishes (all in tournaments with at least 80 players) in 11 events.

He is at the moment rated No. 4 and is No. 3 in the PGA Tour’s University rankings, with the top rated five gamers earning computerized entry into the Korn Ferry Tour (just one phase under the PGA Tour).

But Manke is not thinking about daily life as a pro just yet, not with the a few most important higher education tournaments of the period to appear: this week’s Pac-12 championships, the NCAA regionals and the NCAA championships.

“You can’t aid but glimpse at (the rankings), but when I am out on the golfing training course, it’s not impacting me,” he said. “I know wherever I stand, but I assume I am ready to do a great position separating my feelings on the training course and off the class, and just hitting just about every shot the ideal I can.”

Washington has proved it is not a 1-man staff. The Huskies gained the Goodwin match, hosted by Stanford very last thirty day period, when Manke had by far his worst event of the year (a 57th-spot end). It was the Huskies’ fifth earn of the season, tying a faculty record.

“I normally understood we experienced a exclusive team, and that we had a bunch of good fellas, but that seriously opened my eyes to how excellent these men are,” Manke reported.

Sophomore Teddy Lin won the Duck Invitational. Fifth-12 months senior Noah Woolsey has three profession wins at UW and has completed as significant as next this period. Junior Petr Hruby has finished as high as third. Sophomore Taehoon Song and junior Bo Peng spherical out the 6-participant Husky lineup.

Murray reported it is the greatest staff he has had in his six seasons as UW’s mentor, and the depth will be essential this week with an extra participant competing (5 players contend in most occasions). The worst rating of the six players is thrown out immediately after each individual spherical.

“RJ has gotten a great deal of push this yr, and rightfully so, with the kind of period he has experienced,” Murray explained. “But we have some (other) truly fantastic players.”

The Huskies would be happy with an ending related to the past time they hosted the Pac-12 championships, at Seattle Golf Club in 2009. The Huskies won the group title by 18 shots. UW’s Darren Wallace beat Husky teammate Nick Taylor — a two-time winner on the PGA Tour — by 4 shots to earn the specific title.

Coaching the Huskies that year was Matt Thurmond, now mentor at Arizona Condition. His Sunshine Devils, ranked No. 4 in the nation, are one particular of three rated teams in this week’s occasion, alongside with UW and No. 17 Stanford.

“It genuinely comes down to how you accomplish, and we come to feel if we engage in well, we are likely to be in the dialogue (of contending for the match title) late in the fourth round,” Murray reported. “If we never enjoy well, there are some definitely great teams right here, so it would be really hard to get. Hopefully (residence-training course gain) counts for a entire lot.

Admission is free of charge to this week’s occasion, which begins with two rounds Monday. Washington tees off at 8:12 a.m. for its very first spherical and at 1:42 p.m. for its 2nd spherical.

The earliest tee time for Tuesday’s rounds is at 10 a.m., and motion in Wednesday’s ultimate round starts at 7:30 a.m.

Admirers are not permitted to park at the place club. Spectators can park at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 26529 S.E. Duthie Hill Road in Issaquah.

A shuttle will present transportation in between the parking lot and the training course each individual 15 minutes, starting at 7:30 a.m. Monday and Wednesday, and 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

Jeans and tank tops are not authorized.