West Coast's Top Players Coming to Gold Mountain

When the Husky Invitational kicks off October 1 for a two-day tournament, 13 West Coast universities will send their best golfers to Bremerton, Wash., to test the Olympic Course at Gold Mountain Golf Club.

The Husky Invitational will be a preview of sorts for next May, when some of the nation's best programs head to Gold Mountain for the NCAA West Regionals. The Husky Invitational will feature some of the hottest players on the college circuit, namely Nick Taylor of Washington who is coming off a summer when he won the Canadian Amateur and made the quarterfinals of the U.S. Amateur, and Jesse Barnsley of Pepperdine, who already has been honored as a national player of the week this season. Also in the mix will be a couple of local freshmen just starting their promising college careers, Andrew Putnam of University Place, matriculated at Pepperdine, and T.J. Bordeaux of Tacoma, who is at the University of the Pacific.

Here's a breakdown of the 13 teams in the Husky Invitational, including players on their rosters from the state of Washington.

Washington - This is the first tournament of the year for the Huskies, although sophomore Nick Taylor did win a challenging, one-day, 54-hole qualifier at Tumble Creek to earn the No. 1 spot for the Huskies. State players: Zach Bixler, sr., Richland; Kellen Eakin, jr., University Place; Chris Killmer, jr., Bellingham; John Wise, Jr. Bellevue.

Washington State - The Cougars were fifth at the Mean Green Classic at North Texas, with Austin Hurt tied for 12th individually. At the Giustina Memorial at Trysting Tree in Corvallis, Ore., WSU was sixth with Nick Grigsby tying for eighth. State players: Brandon Black, jr., Kennewick; Xavier Dailly, fr., Burlington; Nick Ellis, fr., East Wenatchee; Nick Grigsby, so., Spokane; Austin Hurt, so., Bainbridge Island; Ryan Jones, fr., Spokane; Dustin Poe, fr., Spokane; Kevin Tucker, so., Kennewick.

Brigham Young - The Cougars tied for 13th at the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate at Albuquerque. State players: none.

California - The Bears were fifth at the Falcon Invitational at the Air Force Academy with junior George Gandranata tying for eighth individually. State players: Ian Dahl, fr., Longview.

California-Davis - The Aggies were fifth at the Kansas Invitational with Matt Marshall tying for sixth. State players: none.

Fresno State - The Bulldogs were second at the Giustina Memorial at Trysting Tree. State players: none.

Idaho - The Vandals were ninth at the Giustina Memorial. State players: Aaron Biel, Spokane.

New Mexico - The Lobos were seventh in their own Tucker Intercollegiate. State players: none.

Oregon - The Ducks are coach by former PGA Tour player and Stanford star Casey Martin. The Ducks took third in the Giustina Memorial. State players: Chris Holway, so., Longview.

Oregon State - The Beavers won their own Giustina Memorial with Vincent Johnson second individually. State players: Sean Jarvis, fr., Vancouver; Clayton Moe, sr., Longview; Alex Moore, fr., Richland; Alex Williams, jr., Vancouver.

Pacific - The Tigers open their season Sept. 25 at the Adams Cup of Newport in Rhode Island. State players: T.J. Bordeaux, fr., Tacoma.

Pepperdine - The Waves are off to a great start this season with their team victory at the Tucker Intercollegiate and the individual title by senior Jesse Barnsley, who was named Golf World's player of the week for his efforts. "It's pretty special to receive this honor and I'm just glad I was able to help the team win and also get the individual win," Barnsley said. "Winning the first tournament of the year will give us more confidence going into the rest of the season." Eric Shriver tied for second individually for the Waves. State players: Andrew Putnam, fr., University Place.

San Diego State - The Aztecs were second, four shots behind Pepperdine, at the Tucker Intercollegiate. Aaron Goldberg and Johan Carlsson tied for fifth. State players: None.

Numerous past participants in the Husky Invitational have gone on to successful professional careers, including Luke Donald, Michael Putnam, Ben Crane, Jason Allred, Brock Mackenzie, James Lepp, Jess Daley and Joel Kribel.

More information about the Husky Invitational is available through Scott Alexander, the director of golf at Gold Mountain (360/415-5432).