Former UA golf star Tiger Christensen qualifies for The Open; Cats hire ex-UW head coach

Christensen, who played for the Wildcats from 2022-24, made it through qualifying by shooting 9 under par over two rounds at West Lancashire Golf Club in Liverpool, England.

Christensen followed an opening 65 with a 2-under 70 on Tuesday to become one of five golfers to qualify for the Open among 68 competing at West Lancashire.

Christensen, who’s from Hamburg, Germany, previously qualified for The Open in 2023. He missed the cut.

This year’s Open Championship is slated for July 16-19 at Royal Birkdale in Southport, England.

Christensen has been in good form recently, finishing tied for 17th, a season best, at the DP World Tour’s Blot Play9 held June 25-28 in Pléneuf, France.

Christensen has a world ranking of 1,141. He turned pro in November 2024.

New UA assistant

Arizona on Monday named former Washington head coach Alan Murray as associate head coach.

Murray coached the Huskies for the past 10 seasons, guiding the program to five NCAA regional appearances.

Murray succeeds Matt Walton as the top assistant to Jim Anderson.

"This is one of the premier and most respected programs in college golf, and I'm eager to get started and help build upon the great work done by Coach Anderson, Coach Walton and so many outstanding coaches before them," Murray said in a news release.

“I’ve long admired the job Jim has done here and the vision he brings to the program. The opportunity to work closely with him, learn from him and collaborate with such talented student-athletes and people across Arizona Athletics is incredibly energizing. I’m looking forward to getting to work.”

Walton was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2022, when he led the Huskies to the conference championship. His contract was not renewed after the '26 season.

Murray, a native of Ireland, previously served as the head coach at UAB. He played collegiately at Toledo.

Arizona reached the semifinals at the NCAA Championship, the program’s best finish since 2004. Departing senior Filip Jakubcik became the first Wildcat to earn first-team All-American honors since '04.