Meet the Wildcats who will play in the NCAA Championships starting Friday

Golf can be a crazy sport. Just ask the Arizona Wildcats.

The UA won the Pac-12 Conference title a year ago, but failed to make it past the NCAA Regionals. This year, they finished 11th in the Pac-12 Championships … then won the NCAA Regional in Bryan, Texas, earning a spot in this week’s 30-team NCAA Championships. Arizona will tee off at 6:30 a.m. Friday in its first NCAA Championships since 2011; the tournament is being held at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.

“In golf, there’s ups and downs, but I think we’re in a good rhythm now,” said UA sophomore Sam Sommerhauser. “We’re all playing great golf and we’re super confident. … It’s going to be a long week, so we just have to stay patient.”

Friday marks the first NCAA Championships as a head coach for Arizona’s Jim Anderson. He called the experience “really cool.”

“I haven’t really had a chance to soak in anything, because of the outcome we experienced and the fun and joy that came from last week, but now it’s been full preparation mode,” he said. “We’re not going to talk about this tournament as something bigger than a round of golf each time.

“We’re going to deconstruct the championship into one round of golf. … When it’s all said and done, I hope there’s a reason to reflect and celebrate that success, but right now we got a job to do and we’re just preparing for it.”

The Wildcats will send Christian Banke, Chase Sienkiewicz, Johnny Walker, Sommerhauser and Chaz Aurilia onto the course on Friday, with Philippines native Aidrac Chan available as a reserve.

Here’s a look at the golfers who will try to deliver Arizona’s first golf title since 1992:

Christian Banke

Hometown:Danville, California

Year: Fifth-year senior

Best score this season: 63 (Won the Arizona Intercollegiate)

How he performed last week: Tied for 10th place (-2)

Coachspeak: "Christian Banke has been our senior leader from start to finish. … He’s assembled a year where he’s going to be talked about for an All-American award. He’s just that good. I think his best quality is the mindset he’s able to play from. He’s very composed, very stoic, very professional and he’s aware of how he’s thinking — both his conscious and subconscious. Because of that, his routine is so good and he’s capable — in any moment — of performing at a high level, which we’ve seen, and we rely on Christian as much — if not, more — as anybody.” — Anderson

Chase Sienkiewicz

Hometown: Sacramento, California

Year: Junior

Best score this season: 65

How he performed last week: Tied for second (-6)

Coachspeak: “He’s got an unbelievable game, especially with his length. He’s worked really hard honing in other scoring skills. He’s become a very good wedge player, his putting is really good, he’s learned how to putt with better speed, and he’s the kind of guy who loves the lights on him at the end, so that’s a good position for us to have. … We’re looking forward for Chase to keep his confidence rolling.” — Anderson

Johnny Walker

Hometown: Chandler

Year: Freshman

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Best score this season: 63

How he performed last week: Tied for 17th (even)

Coachspeak: “He’s a very, very talented golfer and immensely talented as far as off the tee. I think his best quality is his putting. He can go unconscious with his putting. That’s his best quality in golf, he’s got some other great qualities as a young man, too. Johnny is able to go unconscious with his putter, which allows him to score and he’s posted some very, very low rounds for us this year.” — Anderson

Sam Sommerhauser

Hometown: Rocklin, California

Year: Sophomore

Best score this season: 63

How he performed last week: Tied for 20th (+2)

Coachspeak: “He’s got the best fundamentals on the team. He’s a guy who can absolutely put the ball in play off the tee, and has worked really hard on course management and the patience part of that. His best quality comes from boringly beating the golf course, and letting others around make their mistakes to allow his scoring to lead to that. He’s got zero deficiencies in any part of his game.”

Chaz Aurilia

Hometown: Phoenix

Year: Junior

Best score this season: 69

How he performed last week: Tied for 29th (+4)

Coachspeak: “Chaz Aurilia has really stepped up this last week. He’s really committed to being a smart player from the tee. … He’s become very intelligent with his attack of the course, so for Chaz, I’m really happy that he’s found his game this time of year. … He’s ready for high-level golf.” — Jim Anderson

Aidrac Chan

Hometown: Quezon City, Philippines

Year: Junior

Best score this season: 66

How he performed last week: Did not play

He said it: “He’s the kind of player who doesn’t need to get into a rhythm to start scoring. We can all go tee it up any course here in Tucson, and he can absolutely shoot 7 or 8 under par. I’m not trying to forecast that’s going to happen, because I don’t know how things are going to play out, but A.C. is a young man that’s got a lot of confidence in his game. … We couldn’t be more excited about the team we’re bringing up to Grayhawk.” — Anderson