this weekend’s Pac-12 women’s golf championships

“It’s tremendously important,” Jones said. “We’ve been looking forward to this event since the day it was booked. We’re looking forward to having the other Pac-12 schools to see what we have up here in Pullman. Hopefully they like it, because we do.”

Kamimura said the course lends itself to shorter drives during the spring, but it can be easier to hit greens, too.

For Washington State, it’s a chance to continue building. The Cougars enter the weekend ranked 11th in the conference, though they carded a season-low round score of 291 in the third round of Ping G20 fairway wood last week’s Pacific Coast Intercollegiate at Half Moon Bay.

That day, freshman Kristen Rue shot a season-best 5-under 67, and WSU sophomore Mallory Kent, the team’s No. 1 player, finished in 36th place with a 3-day total of 222.

Saturday and Sunday pairings and tee times will be determined based on today and Saturday’s order of finish.

WSU has been playing Palouse Ridge often in recent days, though conditions may be a bit rougher today than earlier in the week. Weather.com calls for a mix of rain and snow showers early today, with an eventual high temperature of 50 degrees.

Kent has already taken several steps forward. As a freshman, she averaged a shade over 79 per round, admitting that she wasn’t as focused during practice as she needed to be.

“You lose a little distance, but the greens are more receptive to some wedge shots and approach shots coming in,” Kamimura said.

Saturday and Sunday pairings and Ping K15 Irons tee times will be determined based on today and Saturday’s order of finish.

“I feel like I’ve really gone to another level this year,” Kent said. “My practices have been a lot different, my mental game I feel like has really taken a step up this year.

“Just a different focus – having really a main focus every time I go out instead of just going out to hit and mess around.”

Eleven teams will descend on discount golf clubs the course this weekend – Utah doesn’t have a team – beginning this morning at 8:30 a.m., when pairings from Washington State and Arizona State tee off on the first hole.

The general manager at the course knows it’s a pretty big deal, especially considering that seven of the participating teams are ranked in the nation’s top 25 by GolfStat – including No. 1 UCLA and its top-ranked player, Erynne Lee.

This season she’s been WSU’s best player, averaging just over 76 per round, and winning the Anteater Invitational earlier this month. That tournament also marked WSU’s first team championship.