Imagine the sense of amazement last spring when UA menβs golf coach Jim Anderson opened an email from St Andrews Links. The holy shrine of golf. It was an invitation for the Wildcatsβ menβs and womenβs teams to play in the just-completed St. Andrews Collegiate golf tournament at the historic Old Course in Fife, Scotland.
No Pac-12 or Big 12 golf team had ever played on that sacred golf property.
βWe were like, this is amazing,ββ said Anderson.
Giovana Maymon, Arizona women's golf coach and Jim Anderson, Arizona men's golf coach.
First-year UA coach Giovana Maymonβs women's team won its four-team women's field last week, while Anderson's men's team took second, falling to Northwestern in the match play medal round after Anderson's Wildcats led following two days of stroke play.
Both events were televised live on Golf Channel. Imagine the recruiting benefits.
Arizona began its menβs golf program in 1934, coached by Fred Enke, and won its first tournament in 1938. Anderson coached Arizona to the 2021 Pac-12 championship, the 77th tournament title in school history. Last weekβs win at St. Andrews was tournament victory No. 81 for the Wildcats.
This entry is part of longtime Star columnist Greg Hansen's weekly notebook. Looking for more? Find updates and Greg's archive at Tucson.com/Hansen.
Anderson believes the UA was invited to St. Andrews in part because of its long history of golf successΒ β the school has won four NCAA championships and produced elite golf names such as Annika Sorenstam and Jim FurykΒ β and because its academic reputation is solid.
The UA womenβs team, the most recent UA program with an NCAA national title (2018), is currently ranked No. 8; the men are No. 14.
βI can thank teams over the decades for establishing such a great reputation for successful golf teams,ββ said Anderson. βThis has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience.ββ
Greg Hansen's Notebook:Β It was disappointing when former Arizona coach Jedd Fisch said recently: βThe new world order of college football will allow us to be able to spend what other programs are spending. It will make it really cool to see what football looks like.ββ
Greg Hansen's Notebook: More on five-star Arizona hoops commit Dwayne Aristode, what the Miami Heat may do with ex-Cats Pelle Larsson and Keshad Johnson, Monday's exhibition between Eastern New Mexico and the UA at McKale and more.
Greg Hansen's Notebook:Β Dave Bingham was an all-state baseball player at Palo Verde High School in the late 1960s. He coached Emporia State to An NAIA national title and the Kansas Jayhawks to a CWS appearance. Last week, he was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.
Jeff Heidrick was one of a kind for Salpointe Catholic High School football | Greg Hansen's Notebook
Greg Hansen's Notebook: Jeff Heidrick's 11-sack, 25-tackle performance for Salpointe Catholich High in a 1980 win over Cholla might be the top defensive game ever played by a Tucson prep footballer. Heidrick, 61, died last week from complications of a lingering medical issue.
Greg Hansen's Notebook: Saturday's blowout to Colorado proved what we all probably already knew: If Arizona can't get the football into T-Mac's hands more often, the Wildcats are doomed.
