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The Husky Invitational begins Monday with a typically strong field assembled at Gold Mountain in Bremerton. 'The teams are pretty solid,' said coach Matt Thurmond at a press conference last week, 'but it's hard to know how good everyone will be because, for some of these teams, it will be their first tournament of the year.'
The field includes two teams; Washington and San Diego State, that finished in the top-15 at last year's NCAA Championships. Also teeing it up will be BYU, California, UC Davis, Idaho, Oregon, Oregon State, Pacific, Portland and Washington State.  BYU's Robbie Fillmore
'I think you'll see a handful of guys play very well,' Thurmond said. The Huskies will have a fresh face atop their lineup with junior Richard Lee, a Bellevue Community College transfer coming off a fifth-place finish in his first Division 1 tournament a week ago at the Gopher Invitational in Wayzata, Minn. 'I'm so happy for Richard,' Thurmond said. 'He is playing great golf right now and I'm excited to see what he and the rest of the guys can do.' Also appearing for the Huskies will be Nick Taylor, Jens Bracht, Darren Wallace and Chris Killmer. Thurmond believes his lineup to be as solid as he has had in the Husky Invitational -- and to be playing better fall golf than he has seen a Washington team play in recent memory. 'I think we're playing better coming into the tournament this year than the last few years,' he said. 'The guys have really been working hard so far and hitting it well.'
The home team will be motivated to win as they haven't clinched the trophy since 2003. 'We haven't won it the past few years,' Thurmond said. 'We haven't been out of the top three, but we're anxious to get back to the top. The guys really want it.'
Ultimately, however, the Husky Invitational is about playing golf and having fun says Thurmond. Indeed, the visiting teams arrived Saturday and enjoyed an evening of whiffle ball, ping pong and barbeque. 'It's a great player's tournament,' Thurmond said. 'A lot of tournaments play to the coaches or the fans, but this one is all about the guys having as much fun out here as possible.'
 WSU's Tucker Tee times:
7:30 a.m. (1st tee) BYU, Oregon State, Idaho
7:30 a.m. (10th tee) Cal, Oregon, UC Davis
8:30 a.m. (1st tee) Washington, San Diego St, Pacific
8:30 a.m. (10th tee) Portland, Washington St., Individuals |
