Washington Golf Off To Good Start

Excuse Washington men’s coach Matt Thurmond for being a little apprehensive. This hasn’t exactly been a run-of-the-mill week for his Huskies.  “The mood’s really good,” Thurmond said. “So good, I’m almost worried.” The Huskies are coming off a 15-shot victory April 19 at the U.S. Intercollegiate in Palo Alto, Calif., their fourth title of the year, topping a fantastic field and breaking school records for single-round score and 54-hole score. If that wasn’t enough, Washington, No. 5 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, hosts the Pac-10 Championship on April 27-29 at Seattle Golf Club, just 15 miles from the UW campus. More than 40 local media members showed up at the team’s media day on Monday, and the team has been featured all week on local news and radio stations.  “I’ve gotten way, way too many e-mails saying, ‘Wow, you guys should be able to dominate the Pac-10,’ ” Thurmond said. “What we did at Stanford, as cool as it is, it has nothing to do with what’s going to happen at the Pac-10.” Getting his squad ready for the conference championship might be tougher than it sounds. Motivating a team often is easier after a poor performance, Thurmond says, because players’ attention to detail is much higher. That’s why he hasn’t mentioned last week’s performance to his players at practice this week as they prepare for the Pac-10.