PHOENIX, Ariz. – A challenging finish to a 36-hole day on Friday carried over into No. 9 Arizona Men’s Golf’s final round of the Thunderbird Collegiate on Saturday as the Wildcats slipped two spots to finish in fourth place at 9-under par. The Cats shot 1-over for the day after shooting 3-over par in the afternoon round the day before. Freshman Tianyi Xiong led the Wildcats with his third top-10 finish of the season, ending his weekend in a tie for ninth place at 6-under.
“Today did not play out as we would have liked, but that is part of how a season can play out,” said head coach Jim Anderson. “The guys are disappointed that they didn’t bounce back today, but I know they are even hungrier to get back out there in two days at the Western Intercollegiate. We have a quick turnaround, so there will be no time spent dwelling on today. These guys have shown their resiliency all season long, and I am expecting a nice bounce back at Pasatiempo.”
After shooting back-to-back rounds of 3-under par on Friday, Xiong shot even par on Saturday to finish as the team’s lowest scorer by five strokes. The ninth place showing at Papago Golf Club also have Xiong consecutive top-10 performance after finishing runner-up to teammate Tiger Christensen at the Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate three weeks ago.
The Wildcats capped their 54 holes in Phoenix by ranking second in par-3 scoring average and were led by sophomore Zach Pollo in that statistic who finished the event at 1-under par and in a tie for 25th.
It will be a quick turnaround for the Wildcats who will travel to Santa Cruz, California to make their annual appearance at the Western Intercollegiate. The tournament starts on Monday, April 15 and will once again feature coverage on the Golf Channel.
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