UA men open spring play at PING tournament

The tournament, which runs through tomorrow, marks the return to competition for the Wildcats after a three-month hiatus and includes 11 of the top 50 men's golf teams in the nation. The Wildcats are ranked fourth in the nation in the latest poll.

Among the teams invited to this week's tournament are No. 11 Arizona State and No. 12 Southern Cal.

UA coach Rick LaRose said he believes both teams will be among those challenging the Wildcats for team honors in the highly competitive Pacific 10 Conference race.

"There are a number of teams in the Pac-10 that can contend for not only the league title, but the national championship as well," LaRose said. "I expect ASU, USC, Stanford and us to have a say in who wins the conference title."

Arizona will once again be lead by its trio of nationally-ranked players. Senior Gary Matthews is ranked 28th, Derek Gillespie 76th, and Rory Sabbatini 99th. Matthews leads the team in scoring average at 73.25 strokes per round, Sabbatini is second at 74.08 and Gillespie is a close third, averaging 74.16 per outing.

LaRose said that he and his team are thrilled about the spring season, especially since the first tournament is here in Tucson.

"We are pretty excited about our chances this season," LaRose said.

"There will be lots of pressure on the guys playing at home, but at the same time, it will help our team to be playing on a familiar course."

The tournament will consist of 54 holes played on the par-71, 6,882 yard course. The players will play 36 holes today and finish up with the final 18 tomorrow.