By Rick LaRose's standards, this is not a vintage UA men's golf team; there's not a defending U.S. Amateur champ in the group, not a U.S. Publinx winner playing in the Masters over spring break, and there's not someone like Chris Nallen shooting a 59.
On Tuesday, the Wildcats finished sixth in their own tournament, the Arizona Intercollegiate and, gulp, were closer to 11th than first.
This is LaRose's 30th year coaching Arizona golf and the first since 1986 that the Wildcats aren't coming off a run (or even a berth) in the NCAA tournament. Obviously, not all is well.
Arizona's most talented player, sophomore Roberto Galletti, is physically unable to play; his return is uncertain. Those LaRose deployed in his first three slots at the Intercollegiate — sophomore Tarquin MacManus, senior Tyler Neal and sophomore Jonathan Khan — struggled to a cumulative 22 over par in the 54-hole event.
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"It's easy coaching the big horses, and for 30 years, we've had a lot of big horses," LaRose said. "But this year, we've had a slight delay. We're waiting for a big stud dog to come along and get us going; we've always had that big stud dog here."
No one feels more of an onus to be that "big stud dog" than Neal, a fifth-year senior who certainly has the physical dimensions (6 feet 2 inches, 195 pounds) to put a golf team on his back and lug it to the NCAA tournament.
The Sahuaro High School grad qualified for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 U.S. Amateurs and is the only active Wildcat who has won a collegiate event (the '08 Wolf Pack Classic in Reno, Nev.)
"I can't tell you how much I looked forward to this event," said Neal, who had rounds of 77-70-75 to finish 31st. "It's my home golf course. I've played here since I was 12. Personally, I'm disappointed. I've got a lot of expectations."
Far too much golf remains for Neal, or any Wildcat, to feel a rush of urgency. Between now and May's NCAA finals, Arizona will engage tournament opponents in Hawaii, Nevada, California, Washington, Phoenix and Tucson.
Redemption awaits.
Neal is a particularly compelling story; he is the son of the UA's assistant athletic director for equipment operations, Wendell Neal, and is thus under an unusually large microscope within the athletic department. His father is one of those engaging, let-me-tell-you-a-story guys who seems to know everybody and serves as caddie/counselor/supporter in his son's bid to make a career of golf.
People are watching — and for good reason.
You take one look at Tyler Neal on a golf course and you are struck by his potential. He has most of the requisite physical tools and is in the process of learning how to use them. He is on track to graduate in May with a degree in retail consumer sciences, but he will first take a crack at making a living in golf.
"When school is out, I golf, eat and sleep, and that's when I've been at my best," he said. "I've had some trouble adjusting to golf during the school year, when sometimes you go three weeks between tournaments, writing papers, taking tests, dealing with distractions. I'm really trying to focus on being a better college golfer."
On Monday and Tuesday, Wendell Neal walked the notoriously hilly Arizona National course three times, up and down, up and down, up and down, always available for some fatherly advice, if necessary. It was a workout and it was therapy.
At the 10th green Tuesday, Tyler drained a 55-foot birdie putt. His father's smile bounced off the nearby Catalinas. But on the 11th tee, Tyler's tee shot faded into the desert, resulting in an unplayable lie and a double bogey.
"This is stressful but it's a good kind of stressful," Wendell Neal said. "I've encouraged Tyler to play golf since he was a 9-year-old in Pullman, Wash., and I worked at Washington State. I'd pay $300 a year for unlimited range balls at the Wazzu nine-hole golf course; Tyler would pack his own lunch, take the city bus and play golf all summer long.
"This is what he has always wanted to do. He has learned how to deal with the highs and the lows. He has very high expectations."
The burden of trying to be a No. 1 golfer at Arizona can be consuming. Rory Sabbatini has been there. So have current PGA Tour regulars Ted Purdy, Ricky Barnes and David Berganio.
Neal doesn't need that type of pressure.
"I'm not a 'what if' guy," LaRose said. "We've got what we've got. Tyler wants to be our leader and he tries very hard. I'm not giving up on anybody. Check back in May; we're just getting started."
