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Featured Fanpost: PAC 12 MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

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The interesting time in college golf is here. This week it is the PAC 12 Men's Golf Championship being played in Pullman with the Cougs as host. The Huskies will be trying to bring another trophy home from Pullman.

The PAC is loaded this year as usual. With 7 teams in the Top 25, the PAC leads all conferences. The SEC and Big 12 have 5 each, the ACC has 4, and the Big 10 has 1. The PAC also is home to 4 of the top 7 players in the nation. The competition will be fierce on the Palouse. Any of the 7 ranked teams could win this year.

In order to rate the teams for this competition I have tried to include more than their National Ranking. While that is important we should look at power and depth plus recent showings. So here goes with my preview (I will admit to being a homer but that is the tradition of this blog).

THE FAVORITES:

ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS:

National Ranking- #3

Top Ranked Player- - #2 Jon Rahm- You might recognize that name from his top five finish in the PGA Phoenix Tour Event. The Sun Devils also have the #7 player but it drops off from there.

Average Ranking of top 4 players: 88

Won-Lost Record: 138-13-1, 91%

Average finish in last 5 events: 2nd

Of note: ASU is coached by Tim Mickelson- yes, Phil's brother. Fortunately both Mickelsons are out of eligibility.

STANFORD CARDINAL:

National Ranking- #13

Top Ranked Player- - #1 Maverick McNealey, son of Scott McNealey founder of Sun Microsystems. Maverick probably had some decent facilities to play in his formative years.

Average Ranking of top 4 players: 77

Won-Lost Record: 108-13-1, 77%

Average finish in last 5 events: 4.6

Of note: Stanford is coached by Conrad Ray who was a member of the 1994 Stanford National Championship team with Tiger Woods and Notah Begay. Stanford has won 8 National Championships.

WASHINGTON HUSKIES:

National Ranking- #12

Top Ranked Player- - #4 C.T. Pan, 4 time Ben Hogan Award finalist, Gold Medal winner in the Asian Games, Qualified for both the U.S Open and British Open in the past. Also, #38 Corey Pereira who is the reigning Pacific Coast Amateur Champion.

Average Ranking of top 4 players: 63

Won-Lost Record: 108-13-1, 77%

Average finish in last 5 events: 2.6

Of note: Coached by Matt Thurman. We all should be familiar with his record in bringing Husky Men's Golf to national prominence. The Dawgs have a deep line-up this year.

THE CONTENDERS:

OREGON DUCKS:

National Ranking- #8

Top Ranked Player- - #72 The Ducks have a very balanced attack this year- their top 4 players all are in the top 100 but they have no highly ranked players.

Average Ranking of top 4 players: 87

Won-Lost Record: 127-25-4, 84%

Average finish in last 5 events: 3.4

Of note: The Ducks are coached by Casey Martin, another member of Stanford's 1994 Championship team. He is noted for suing the PGA Tour to be able to ride a cart during tournament play due to a degenerative leg condition. He was an amazing player when you consider his physical challenges. He has recruited well at Oregon. His biggest recruiting challenge is the green and yellow shirts.

UCLA BRUINS:

National Ranking- #14

Top Ranked Player- - #27 Another balanced team with all top 4 players in the top 100.

Average Ranking of top 4 players: 70

Won-Lost Record: 86-39-2, 70%

Average finish in last 5 events: 4.8

Of note: UCLA is coached by Derek Freeman. Derek's brothers are Jeff and Robin Freeman, PGA and Senior PGA Tour players, along with Craig Freeman- Director of Instruction at PGA West. UCLA has a strong program. They will be a factor this year.

USC TROJANS:

National Ranking- #16

Top Ranked Player- - #33

Average Ranking of top 4 players: 105

Won-Lost Record: 112-36-2, 76%

Average finish in last 5 events: 6.6

Of note: Chris Zambri, former Tour player, is the Trojans head coach. USC started the Fall season well, but haven't done as well in the Spring.

CAL BEARS:

National Ranking- #25

Top Ranked Player- - #37

Average Ranking of top 4 players: 121

Won-Lost Record: 110-32-2, 77%

Average finish in last 5 events: 5.2

Of note: Cal coach Steve Desimone has lead the Bears for almost 40 years. In 1979 Cal Men's Golf lost Varsity status. With the help of private donors, the program regained Varsity status. The program reached a pinnacle in 2004 with a National Championship. (Willingham to Peterson comparisons welcome).

NOT THIS YEAR:

COLORADO BUFFALOS:

National Ranking- #48

Top Ranked Player- - #168

Average Ranking of top 4 players: 322

Won-Lost Record: 88-63-1 58%

Average finish in last 5 events: 9.6

Of note: The Buffalos are ranked in the Top 50 but won't seriously challenge for the title.

OREGON STATE BEAVERS:

National Ranking- #71

Top Ranked Player- - #187

Average Ranking of top 4 players: 395

Won-Lost Record: 69-82-1 46%

Average finish in last 5 events: 10.0

Of note: The Beavers are coached by Jon Reehoorn, former UW assistant coach- One of two Thurmond assistants with Head Coaching jobs in the PAC. He needs to upgrade the talent in Corvallis to contend.

WASHINGTON STATE COUGARS:

National Ranking- #73

Top Ranked Player- - #261

Average Ranking of top 4 players: 393

Won-Lost Record: 87-65-1 57%

Average finish in last 5 events: 7.6

Of note: Another Thurmond assistant, Garrett Clegg, heads the Cougs. They are about equivalent to Oregon State in talent, but have the home course advantage. That could get them as high as 6th place if they have a good week.

ARIZONA WILDCATS:

National Ranking- #102

Top Ranked Player- #106

Average Ranking of top 4 players: 438

Won-Lost Record: 51-99-1 34%

Average finish in last 5 events: 11.8

Of note: Arizona historically is a powerhouse. Their level of performance is surprising.

UTAH UTES:

National Ranking- #142

Top Ranked Player- #621

Average Ranking of top 4 players- 688

Won-Lost Record: 55-87-3, 39%

Average finish in last 5 events: 7.4

Of note: Simply not competitive at this level. Southern Utah University is ranked higher.

CONCLUSIONS:

A strong player or two can carry a team to victory if they are on their game. I favor the teams with the most firepower on the front end- ASU, Stanford and UW. I think UW's top 4 are the best, giving the Huskies a leg up. I will be rooting for the Dawgs and hope you will too.

Gohuskies.com has very impressive detailed information about the team and the event. I won't repeat that information here.

By the way, the PAC 12 Network has coverage of the event- on May 10th- almost 2 weeks after the tournament is played.

GO DAWGS!