Men's golf trying to turn things around

The Wildcats will be in Cary, N.C., tomorrow and Sunday to compete in the PING Intercollegiate at the par-72, 6,776 yard Macgregor Downs Country Club.

The Wildcats have been in a funk, finishing next to last in their two outings after finishing second in three of the first four tournaments of the spring schedule.

"Our players will be fine," UA head coach Rick LaRose said. "We just need all of our guys to come out and play well at the same time."

The 12-team field includes eight of the top 10 teams in the country, according to the latest Rolex Collegiate Golf rankings, including No. 1 UNLV, which Arizona defeated earlier this season in match play.

Other top 10 schools playing in the tournament are second-ranked Oklahoma State, No. 3 Texas Christian, co-No. 4's Clemson and Duke, No. 6 North Carolina and No. 10 Wake Forest.

Arizona needs junior Rory Sabbatini to play as well as he did at last year's tournament, when he placed second behind former UA golfer Ted Purdy.

But, Sabbatini is struggling. He finished a dismal 161st in his last outing.

"Rory is really the guy that makes this team go," LaRose said of his team's top scoring player. "The guys need to keep looking to him for leadership and he will show them how it is done."

Competing for the Wildcats are senior Gary Matthews, sophomores Andy Barnes and Todd Rose and freshman Derek Gillespie.

The 54-hole event consists of two rounds on Saturday and a final round on Sunday morning.

Arizona has one more event after this weekend on April 19-20 at the Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe at ASU's Karsten Golf Course. The Pac-10 Championships follow on May 5-10 in Eugene, Ore.