David Laskin still jokes about what Tianlang Guan, his UA teammate, said to him at last year鈥檚 Arizona Intercollegiate tournament.
鈥淚n the final round we were driving up on 17 and I missed the green a little left. 鈥楲angly鈥 had just made a putt, and I looked at him and said, 鈥業鈥檓 going to pull a 鈥楲angly鈥 and make this one,鈥欌 Laskin said. 鈥淗e one-upped me by looking me dead in the eyes and said, 鈥楴o, you鈥檙e going to pull an Arizona and we鈥檙e going to 鈥 win this thing.鈥欌
One hole later, Arizona defeated Texas A&M, the No. 2-ranked program in the country, by two strokes.
Monday, the Wildcats will try to repeat as champions in their home tournament. Laskin, now a junior, will look to take another big step forward. Last year, he averaged a score of 72.8 per round 鈥 the third-best total on the team, tied with freshman phenom Trevor Werbylo.
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Laskin and Werbylo will be asked to lead with George Cunningham, Arizona鈥檚 top individual performer from a year ago, now in the pros. Both golfers said they鈥檙e more focused on themselves as the season opens.
鈥淚鈥檓 not really trying to fill George鈥檚 shoes because he is a really special player and it鈥檚 not often that guys like that come through a program,鈥 Laskin said, 鈥淚t was just nice to learn from him 鈥 he wasn鈥檛 the most outspoken person, but he was definitely a leader by example.鈥
Werbylo said he is thankful that he got to learn from such a poised player. But, like Laskin, he鈥檚 not worried about following in Cunningham鈥檚 footsteps.
鈥淕eorge was the guy that everyone looked up to. He set an example for us by the way he played, and his work ethic, and how he would perform on the bigger stages,鈥 Werbylo said.
In the fall, both players garnered their best career finish to date. Laskin finished as the individual runner-up at the Huntsman Invitational in Driggs, Idaho, in September.
鈥淚t was just really nice for me to put together three solid rounds down the stretch and give myself the best possible chance to win,鈥 Laskin said.
A month later, Werbylo stole the show and placed fifth at the Little Rock Invitational in Arkansas. He birdied 11 times in the tournament.
Now, both golfers will turn their attention to the spring season 鈥 and, they hope, a run at a national championship.
鈥淲ith the team and coaches we鈥檝e got,鈥 Werbylo said, 鈥淚 think we all believe it鈥檚 a very attainable goal.鈥
The Wildcats men watched first-hand last summer, as the UA women鈥檚 team 鈥 led by Haley Moore and Bianca Pagdanganan 鈥 captured the national title.
鈥淲e saw the girls鈥 team pull it off last year, and we鈥檙e around them enough to know that we want to do the same,鈥 Laskin said.
Before they can do that, there鈥檚 business to take care of 鈥 starting Monday.
鈥淲e鈥檙e defending this week, so it鈥檚 important to us to win again,鈥 Laskin said.
No rest 鈥 or rust 鈥 for Cats
Arizona last played on Nov. 7, but there shouldn鈥檛 be too much rust to shake off the clubs. Many of the Wildcats鈥 golfers take it upon themselves to train and compete back home during winter break. Most players visit their personal swing coaches and get in practice time at their familiar neighborhood courses.
Some players, like Laskin, went the extra mile during summer vacation. He played in tournaments in Atlanta; Sunnehanna, Pennsylvania; and Providence, Rhode Island; over a three-week stretch.
The constant competition kept Laskin on his toes, and ultimately paved the way to his best individual performance as a Wildcat when the fall schedule resumed in September.
Mental game
Laskin, despite his success, knows that golf is a game of constant improvement.
鈥淚鈥檇 say it鈥檚 about 80-percent mental. If your mental game is even a little off, it can really derail your game,鈥 Laskin said. 鈥淕olf is so challenging because you can go on a three-week stretch where you鈥檙e like, 鈥榃ow, how did I ever play bad?鈥 but at the same time you can also go on a three-week stretch where you鈥檙e like, 鈥楳an, how did I ever play good?鈥欌
Players refer to this struggle as a slump or a rut, but it鈥檚 not always a bad thing.
That鈥檚 because every golfer experiences a letdown. The great ones simply have a knack for digging themselves out of the hole.
Laskin prefers to treat a downturn in performance as an opportunity to catch his opponents off guard.
鈥淯sually if I鈥檓 in a slump I鈥檒l just aim to keep it around par because if you鈥檙e playing solid golf and aren鈥檛 making a ton of mistakes, there鈥檚 a good chance to pick up shots against guys that maybe don鈥檛 know how to play in certain weather, or just struggle in adverse conditions,鈥 Laskin said.
Werbylo, on the other hand, relies on his confidence ahead of tournaments to dictate his performance in clutch moments 鈥 but he also insists it鈥檚 possible to flip the switch whenever he needs to.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e playing well before a tournament you鈥檙e bound to perform well, but there鈥檚 also been times where I haven鈥檛 had much confidence entering a tournament and still end up competing with the top guys,鈥 Werbylo said.
Aiming for the top spots
Laskin said he鈥檚 eager to get his first-ever collegiate win. He also wants to beat assistant coach Chris Nallen鈥檚 all-time season scoring average of 69.79, which Nallen set in 2004. Laskin needs to shave roughly three shots per round off last year鈥檚 average.
鈥淚 joke around with Chris, because I do want to break his scoring record at Arizona,鈥 he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檇 just be cool to be able to leave my mark here.鈥
Werbylo, a Salpointe Catholic product, played in all 13 events as a freshman. He said it was a learning experience.
鈥淭here were times during my freshman year where I just felt overwhelmed by pressure...I don鈥檛 let the little things affect me as much now, and I think it鈥檚 made my game noticeably better,鈥 he said.
