PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State men’s golf team is looking to build off its record-setting campaign a season ago, as the Cougars head into their seventh year under the direction of head coach Dustin White.
WSU had one of its best seasons as a team in program history in 2021-22, as the Cougars set the program record for team scoring average at 288.17. Washington State also posted their first team win outside of Pullman since the 2013-14 campaign with a victory at the 2021 Visit Stockton Invitational. Wazzu is poised for another strong campaign this fall, as the Cougs return all but two golfers from last season’s record-setting squad, while also bringing in a freshman class that has the potential to make an immediate impact.
“I’m very excited for this upcoming season,” expressed White, who heads into his seventh season as head coach at this Alma Mater. “We’ve seen a lot of good things from the returners and the new guys are playing well. I think having some of that new energy will help make us better. With the group we have, they’ve come together really nicely. It’s going to be an exciting year.”
Washington State roster feature one lone senior Pono Yanagi. The Hilo, Hawai’i native comes back to the Palouse after posting a career-best scoring average last season at 72.48, which is the 15th-best scoring average in program history. Yanagi has played in a team-best 63 rounds through 21 career tournaments. Though it will be Yanagi’s senior season, he will still have one more season of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic that canceled portions of his freshman and sophomore seasons.
“This will be Pono’s true senior year, and we’ll get him for one more after this. He has come a long way and has learned a lot,” said White of the senior. “I think he has done a nice job of showing some of our newcomers the ropes. He has grown into a really good player and his game is more complete now.”
Despite having one senior on its roster WSU doesn’t lack experience, as several juniors return to the fold for the Cougs, led by Jaden Cantafio who posted the fourth-best season scoring average in program history last season at 72.10. Cantafio collected four top-25 finishes a season…
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