The Seattle University men’s golf team continues its busy spring season with the Western Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championships, taking place May 2-4 at the Stallion Mountain Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nev.
Among the eight schools competing as full teams, Seattle U enters the tournament fifth in the league in both the Golfstat Team Rankings and the Golfweek Ratings. The Redhawks have experienced the feeling of a tournament victory, winning the Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational in February by nine strokes thanks to a season-best round of 283 (-5) on the final day.
“The guys have had a great week of practice heading into this tournament,” Seattle U head coach Marc Chandonnet said. “They have worked hard all year and seen success. Although I am bringing a young team to this tournament, with only one player having conference championship experience at the Division I level, I believe we will have a chance to be competitive this weekend.”
Luka Karaula (Zapresic, Croatia) enters the weekend as Seattle U’s number one seed after shooting 68 (-2) in the first round of the Redhawk Invitational and 74 (+2) in the final round of the El Macero Classic two weeks ago. Coming into the weekend with an average score of 76.34, Karaula’s top finish so far this season was a tie for 13th place at the Thunderbird Invitational after back-to-back rounds of even-par 72.
Ross Kukula (Ocean Park, Wash.) will be the Redhawks’ second seed in the first round of the WAC Championships, bringing a scoring average of 75.58 into the tournament. He got off to a strong start this spring, finishing 17th at the Pat Hicks Invitational thanks in part to an opening-round 71, and he followed that by ending up in a tie for 17th place at the Colleton River Collegiate with a cumulative total of 224 (+8).
Kyle Cornett (Mill Creek, Wash.), the WAC Player of the Week on April 15 after a solid performance at the Redhawk Invitational, is Seattle U’s third seed in Friday’s first round. Cornett shined in two fall tournaments, finishing in a tie for 11th place at the Dash Thomas Memorial Tournament in September, shooting two-under-par 69 in the final round, and in a tie for 10th place at the Bill Cullum Invitational, shooting three-under-par 69 in the second round.
David Torres (Armenia, Colombia) is the team’s fourth seed as he is returning from back issues that forced him to withdraw from the final round of the Redhawk Invitational as well as miss the El Macero Classic. He is sixth among WAC individuals in the Golfweek Ratings as well as eighth in the league in scoring average at 73.07, including a second-round 66 at the Price’s Give ‘Em Five Invitational in late October.
Patrick Sato (Bellevue, Wash.) opened his collegiate career with a 68 in the first round of Washington State’s tournament, and he finished in a tie for third place at the Cabo Del Sol Intercollegiate after shooting consecutive rounds of even-par 72 to close out the tournament. Entering the weekend with a scoring average of 75.90, Sato played well in the final two rounds of the El Macero Classic with scores of 73 (+1) and 74 (+2).
Last year at the Rio Secco Golf Club in Henderson, Nev., Seattle U finished in ninth place as a team with a three-round total of 930 (+66), led by Torres’s 229 (+13) that landed him in a tie for 20th place.
The first round of the WAC Men’s Golf Championships is scheduled to tee off from the first hole at 6:30 a.m. Friday, May 2. Seattle U golfers will be part of the second wave of groupings alongside players from Kansas City and Texas-Pan American, and they will tee off from 7:20 a.m. to 8 a.m. The third wave will be teeing off from the 10th hole beginning at 7 a.m.