UW golfers cap big comeback with win at ASU tourney

The Husky men’s golf team served notice to the rest of the Pac-10 and proved you can’t kick these Dawgs when they’re down. Trailing by 16 strokes and sitting in seventh place entering the final round of the ASU Thunderbird Invitational, Washington mounted a furious 18-hole rally to win the tournament by two strokes.

Four Huskies shot rounds in the 60’s at Karsten Golf Course and UW combined to shoot a tournament-best 16-under-par 268 on the day. The round equaled the third-best single-round score in UW history.

Karsten Golf Course is the site of the 2010 Pac-10 Championships and all 10 teams from the conference participated in preparation for the upcoming event. Washington finished at 13-under 839 overall and beat UCLA by two strokes. USC was third at -10 and Oregon and Arizona tied for fourth at -6. It is Washington’s second tournament championship this season and first since winning the season-opening Topy Cup in early September.

Freshman Chris Williams paced the way for the Huskies by shooting a 7-under 64 and ended regulation tied for first. He had to settle for second after he lost in a one-hole playoff when San Diego State’s J.J. Spaun chipped in from the rough on No. 18 for a three.

Williams had eight birdies on the day, including five on the back nine. He is just the fourth player in UW history to shoot a 64 or better in the third round of an event.

“For a freshman, he has the heart of a guy that has been doing this for a really long time,” said Thurmond.