The reigning Pac-12 champions return to the golf course this weekend in Scottsdale.
The Arizona Wildcats men’s golf team, ranked 19th by Golfstat, opens their fall season in the Maui Jim Invitational at the Mirabel Golf Club. The three-round tournament started Friday morning and runs through Sunday.
The Maui Jim Invitational is the first of four preseason tournaments for the Wildcats, pitting them against top talent including No. 5 ASU, No. 17 Auburn, No. 10 Clemson and No. 23 Louisville.
Arizona coach Jim Anderson and junior golfer Chase Sienkiewicz spoke with the Star this week to preview the event, the addition of a new assistant coach and the impact of last year’s season on recruiting.
How do you think the competition level at the Maui Jim Invitational will prepare the team for the rest of the season?
Anderson: “I think it will just be great to see how guys as individuals perform and how we as a team perform as a unit. The trickiest part about these opening tournaments is that they’re all the same. This isn’t like the spring game for football. The four tournaments will have a direct impact on what our national ranking looks like in April.
So we really aren’t afforded the time to experiment, if you will. We need to have the best Wildcat team we can right now.”
How has winning the Pac-12 last year helped in recruiting?
Anderson: “It’s helped a tremendous amount. Of course recruiting is a big part, but I don’t really like to talk about it with the team because it’s about what’s going on right now for us. But I am very appreciative of our success from last year and the success that Chase (Sienkiewicz) is having because that opens up conversations with young players who want to be a part of that kind of success. Our summer recruiting went very well and we’re going to sign some players here in November that we're very excited about.”
Where have you seen the most growth in junior Chase Sienkiewicz who now steps into a leadership role and is now one of the more experienced players on the team?
Anderson: “Chase poses a great amount of confidence but I think he also has an equal amount of humility. There’s young people who sometimes take criticism differently. I think one of his best qualities is he’s able to take criticism, or the ribbing the team does, he doesn’t take it personal. That feedback just fuels his drive to improve.
He’s watched elite players here and how they practice and how they spend their time to get ready for tournaments. Those types of qualities are now what Chase is going to be doing. It’s why he’s the kind of player he is.”
The program hired James Vargas, a former All-American golfer at Florida, as new assistant coach this season. How will he help the program?
Anderson: “I was really impressed by his playing acumen and in talking to him, I know he cares deeply about the players. That’s not to be soupy, he really does invest a lot of time and energy into them, the person. And when he understands them, that’s where I think he can really help them with their game.”
Sienkiewicz: “He reminds me a lot of (former assistant) Chris Nallen, and just focusing on keeping things simple. That’s the biggest thing with my game, keeping things simple and keeping things in front of you. Coach Vargas has so much experience in the college world and after college. So just really excited for the team, he really blends well with our team already.”
Chase, you’ve been praised a lot for your drives off the tee. Take us through your routine for setting up a good drive.
Sienkiewicz: “I think the biggest, like anything on the golf course, is consistency. That’s something I’ve tried to do ever since I got here freshman year. I tried to move the ball a little bit too much from right to left, or left to right off the tee with whatever club I was hitting with.
But now I’m really locked in on hitting the DJ (Dustin Johnson) power cut consistently. So if I’m stepping over a golf ball with a driver, I’m just trying not to focus on too much and keep it simple. My normal swing produces about a 10-yard. I think the best drivers in the game right now aren’t just guys that hit it on a rope, on a straight line. I think the most accurate guys are hitting on a 10-yard cut, or 10-yard draw. So that’s something I’ve built on the last couple of years.”
