What better way to celebrate 520 Day than to lock up a trip to nationals in your own area code?
Arizona completed a dominant run through the Marana Regional, clearing the field by 14 strokes at The Gallery Golf Club and finishing the 3-day event at 49-under par. The Wildcats posted the second-lowest tournament score in program history in relation to par, one shot off the record, and in doing so earned their 31st trip to the NCAA Championships, set for May 29-June 3 in Carlsbad, Calif.
After a program-record
24-under on Tuesday, the UA was -14 in the final round to claim its eighth regional title and first since 2022. Oklahoma State, the defending NCAA champ who beat Arizona for the Big 12 title last month in Texas, finished second at -35 while LSU (-30), Arkansas State (-24) and Duke (-24) also advanced to nationals.
Four players tied for the individual title at 15-under including UA seniors Filip Jakubcik and Zach Pollo, who were -5 and -6, respectively on Wednesday. Pollo shot a 9-under 63 on Tuesday after going even par in the first round, but for the final 18 he treated it like any other time on the course.
“Just keep doing the same things I was doing,” Pollo said. “It’s easy to get ahead of yourself, especially after a round like that. I was just trying to keep it as simple as possible, and just keep doing what I was doing, and keep my mind in the same space that I was yesterday. I played a good round of golf, for sure. Left a couple out there, but I also snagged a couple, too.”
A year ago, Arizona missed making nationals by one stroke. It went into Wednesday with far less pressure than in 2025—“it was definitely a bit of a peaceful round,” Jakubcik said—but continued to push as if it were fighting to make the cut.
“Even personally for me, I usually struggle playing well if I’m trying to protect the pars, so as a team I think we all try to make as many birdies as we could, and I think it went pretty well,” Jakbucik said.
Though it didn’t play any events at The Gallery this season, Arizona’s players regularly got in rounds at the course on northwest of Tucson. Their familiarity with the desert landscape, and average elevation of 2,875 feet, gave them a leg up on the field.
“I think a lot of it leads to the preparation and getting to play at a great golf course like the Gallery Golf Club, and the access that our team enjoys,” UA coach Jim Anderson said. “The staff and membership embracing this championship have given us probably a bit of an advantage when it comes to knowing course knowledge, what clubs to hit off tees, feeling comfortable. The more comfortable you are on a golf course and know how to play a golf course, then there’s inherent advantage that comes with that. Don’t get me wrong, you can carry scars from that too, so it can cut both ways. But this team is so talented and hardworking, and we’ve seen it enough that they did a great job of preparing.”
Part of that preparation included bringing the team to The Gallery at 7 a.m. on multiple days in the weeks leading up to regionals to get used to the early start.
Arizona will be one of 30 teams playing in the NCAA Championships at the Omni La Costa Resort and Spa. There will be four rounds of stroke play, with the field cut to 15 teams after the third round, then the top eight squads advance to match play.
The Wildcats took 15th in 2024, the first time the event was held at La Costa, and have not reached match play since that format was introduced in 2009, but Anderson has a good feeling about this squad.
“I really like our chances,” he said. “Filip and Zach both got a chance to see La Costa when they were sophomores, and I think the team’s been playing great. It’s really great to see all five guys contribute in the way they did this week, and we’ve leaned on different guys all season long.”
