TUCSON, Ariz. – The 21st edition of the Arizona N.I.T., hosted by Arizona Men’s Golf, will begin on Monday, Jan. 20 at Omni Tucson National. The 16th ranked Wildcats will host a 18-team field and look to defend their team and individual titles won a year ago in the 54-hole event. Arizona is coming off a match play championship in last week’s Copper Cup when it defeated No. 6 Arizona State and No. 31 UCLA in consecutive days at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa, Arizona.
“Coming off an exciting win last week in our first tournament of 2024, our program is eager to come out and compete,” said head coach Jim Anderson. “We had a great fall and played some great golf in match play, and we have built up our momentum up even more. Our team is prepared and eager to defend its team and individual titles won in last year’s N.I.T., which sets us up to play more great golf this week.”
Arizona’s lineup will include Tiger Christensen, Filip Jakubcik, Sam Sommerhauser, Tianyi Xiong and defending individual champion Zach Pollo. Pollo and Christensen both finished in the top 10 in last year’s tournament, playing key roles in Arizona’s one-stroke victory over Pepperdine in dramatic fashion.
All 18 teams will look to play 36 holes on Monday with the final round being played on Tuesday on the Catalina Course at Omni Tucson National. The event is open to the public with free admission.
News & Notes
- Zach Pollo was co-medalist with USC’s Jackson Rivera in the 2023 Arizona N.I.T., becoming the first Arizona freshman to win a tournament since Henry Liaw in 2004. He would go on to win Pac-12 Golfer of the Week honors for his win.
- The Wildcats’ win over Pepperdine in last year’s event marked their first team win in the tournament since 2003.
- Tiger Christensen missed last week’s Copper Cup win due to illness. He won Arizona’s final fall tournament, the Jackson T. Stephens Cup, with a program-record individual score of 19-under par.
- The 2024 edition of the Arizona N.I.T. was moved up in the calendar after traditionally being played in the middle of March.
- Omni Tucson National played host to the PGA Tour Champions’ Cologuard Classic from 2015 to 2023.
- The 2024 field of the Arizona N.I.T. features eight teams ranked in the top 40 of the NCAA golf rankings.
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