Looking to improve upon a fifth-place finish at last year’s Western Athletic Conference Championships, the Seattle University men’s golf team begins its competition season next week close to home.
Similar to the women, four of the five golfers who participated in the WAC Championships last May are back for the Redhawks, led by sophomore Kyle Cornett (Mill Creek, Wash.), who was Seattle U’s top finisher at the 2014 conference tournament. Over the summer, Cornett won the Snohomish County Amateur by six strokes with rounds of 68, 72, and 68, plus he finished in a tie for seventh place at the Rosauers Open and in a tie for 23rd place in the Northwest Open.
Ross Kukula (Ocean Park, Wash.) advanced to the finals of the Oregon Coast Match Play Invitational, while Patrick Sato (Bellevue, Wash.) ended up in ninth place at the Washington State Amateur Championship. Luka Karaula (Zapresic, Croatia) also returns to the Redhawk squad after two top-20 finishes during the 2013-14 season.
Sophomore Ahren Young (Renton, Wash.) competed in eight tournaments for the Redhawks last season, finishing in 18th place at the Pat Hicks Thunderbird Invitational to help Seattle U earn its first stroke-play team title since the golf program returned to varsity status in 2008. Jamie Hall (Seattle, Wash.) is a highly-touted transfer who won three tournaments while playing for Hawaii-Hilo.
Other newcomers brought into the program by head coach Marc Chandonnet include Shane Wathanasaynee (Los Alamitos, Calif.), a redshirt junior transferring from the University of Washington, as well as freshmen Jaesung Choi (Surrey, B.C.) and Joe Harvie (Orting, Wash.). Chandonnet is hopeful that the added competition within the team will lead to better results in the various tournaments.
The Redhawks will not need to travel far for its opening tournament of the season, competing in the Husky Invitational at Gold Mountain Golf Club in Bremerton, Wash., next Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 22-23. That will be the first of three straight tournaments hosted by Pac-12 schools Seattle U will compete in, with the Mark Simpson Colorado Invitational (Sept. 29-30) and the Utah Ogio Invitational (Oct. 6-7) also on the docket. The fall season will conclude with Seattle U traveling across the country for the Georgetown Intercollegiate in Beallsville, Md., Oct. 20-21.
Updates will be posted after each day of competition throughout the 2014-15 golf season on GoSeattleU.com.