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Arizona junior Zachery Pollo has been with the same swing coach since he was 鈥�13 or 14 years old,鈥� he said.

Nearly a decade since their first session, Pollo鈥檚 swing coach will caddy for the UA golfer this week at the U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania, which begins Thursday morning.

Pollo tees off on Thursday at 11:20 a.m. on USA Network. The second, third and fourth rounds of the U.S. Open will be televised on NBC. Pollo will be paired up with PGA golfers Ryan McCormick and Trevor Cone.

Pollo, who is set to play in his first-ever PGA Tour event, is one of 10 amateur golfers to qualify for the U.S. Open this year. Pollo is the first Wildcat to play in the U.S. Open since UA men鈥檚 golf head coach Jim Anderson was hired in 2012.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty cool,鈥� Pollo said. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited and it鈥檚 something that doesn鈥檛 happen very often at this age. It鈥檚 a great opportunity for me to represent the U of A, go out and have a good time and enjoy the experience.鈥�

The U.S. Open 鈥渋s one of the biggest tournaments you could possibly get into,鈥� Anderson said. Other notable Wildcats to play in the U.S. Open include Jim Furyk and Ricky Barnes, who set the 36-hole scoring record at the 2009 U.S. Open.

USGA announced it received a record 10,202 entries for the U.S. Open qualifiers at 110 local qualifying sites. For the final 10 qualifying sites, there were 744 golfers. Only 47 golfers from the qualifiers advanced to the 156-player U.S. Open this year.

A majority of the players at the U.S. Open 鈥渁re there by way of how they played as professionals,鈥� said Anderson.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an honor to make it, and it鈥檚 a lifetime experience for many,鈥� said Arizona鈥檚 head coach. 鈥淭here are professional journeymen who try to play golf for a living and it鈥檚 a serious hobby for them; they dream of having the chance to play in one U.S. Open.

鈥淔or Zach to do this at 21 (years old) and have aspirations to get to play in more of these, it鈥檚 a great way to kickstart what will soon be a great professional career for him. ... He鈥檚 going into his senior year and he has positioned himself as one of the best in college golf.鈥�

Pollo was born in Sacramento and grew up in Rocklin, California, a suburb of the capital of California, and gravitated towards golf at 7 years old with the help of his grandfather.

鈥淗e noticed that I really enjoyed it and loved it,鈥� Pollo said. 鈥淲e started playing the course and it just took off from there. I started playing some junior tournaments, did well there and it just took off. ... It just clicked for me. When I was young, I would hit balls over and over again, and it just never got old.鈥�

One of Pollo鈥檚 sources of inspiration is Scottie Scheffler, the top-ranked golfer in the world, 鈥渘ot because of the way he plays, but the way he handles himself on the golf course.鈥�

鈥淗e鈥檚 very calm and he gets himself around the golf course good mentally,鈥� Pollo said.

Added Pollo: 鈥淚t鈥檚 very clich茅, you hear it a lot, but it鈥檚 the best way to handle it: you really have to take it one shot at a time, especially when you鈥檙e in contention. One bad shot isn鈥檛 going to take you out of contention, it鈥檚 if you keep stacking bad shots because you鈥檙e not in the frame of mind; that鈥檚 what takes you out of it. When you鈥檙e in contention, every shot is vital and it doesn鈥檛 matter what the past shot was. Just focus on what鈥檚 ahead.鈥�

Pollo signed with Arizona out of Whitney High School in 2022 and immediately became an impact player for the Wildcats.

Pollo was named a Pac-12 All-Freshman Team member and was one of three Wildcats to play in every tournament in 2022-23. Pollo was the co-champion of Arizona鈥檚 National Invitational Tournament (NIT) at Omni 大象APPNational, becoming the first UA freshman to win the event since Henry Liaw in 2004. Pollo鈥檚 13-under performance helped Arizona win the NIT for the first time since 2003.

As a sophomore, Pollo was a second-team All-Pac-12 selection. This season, Pollo won the individual title at the St. Andrews Links Collegiate in Scotland and had a Top 10 finish at the Amherst Regional in Virginia last month.

Over a week ago, Pollo shot 6 under at the 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier at Valencia Country Club in California. The U.S. Open qualifier is known as 鈥淕olf鈥檚 Longest Day.鈥�

鈥淚t is a long day, for sure,鈥� Pollo said. 鈥淏ut to my advantage, we played a handful of those days in college this past year. We played, like, five or six 36-hole days. I think that preparation helped guide me to have a good day because it takes a toll on you. Having done that in the past, I think, made it a little bit easier.鈥�

Pollo said he 鈥渇inished the first round really strong鈥� at the U.S. Open qualifier, which positioned him comfortably for a spot in the U.S. Open.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 anything special to start the round until I rolled off a few birdies and got an eagle in there,鈥� Pollo said. 鈥淏etween rounds, I checked the leaderboard and I saw I was a couple (shots) ahead. That鈥檚 when I realized, 鈥楯ust one good round and you鈥檙e going to be playing in the U.S. Open.鈥欌��

The reward for qualifying for the U.S. Open? Playing at Oakmont Country Club, one of the most daunting courses in the world. The eighth hole is a 300-yard Par 3 surrounded by bunkers. The rough at Oakmont Country Club is 5 inches thick, the greens are fast and mishits can be unforgiving. Dustin Johnson, who won the U.S. Open at Oakmont in 2016, said the course is the most challenging in the world.

鈥淭his is probably the hardest golf course that we鈥檒l play,鈥� said Scheffler. 鈥淢aybe ever.鈥�

Pollo鈥檚 confident in his ball-striking and putting to potentially excel at the U.S. Open.

鈥淭ypically, if I get the putter going, it鈥檚 going to be a really good week,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 know I have the ball-striking and I know I have the game. I know the greens are going to be firm and fast and the rough is going to be thick. Keeping the ball in play and on the fairway and having irons from the fairway is going to be really important. If a few putts go in, it鈥檚 going to be a really good week, for sure.鈥�

When Pollo first started his journey at Arizona, he was considered a 鈥渟treaky putter,鈥� according to Anderson. Since becoming an upperclassman, Pollo鈥檚 putting has been more consistent.

鈥淲hen he was young, he had great weeks, but when it wasn鈥檛 all there, it was a little bit inconsistent, and that鈥檚 where he made remarkable strides,鈥� Anderson said.

Pollo said, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 been something I鈥檝e been working on for a while.鈥�

鈥淭hat鈥檚 an area of my game I always focus to improve on,鈥� he added. 鈥淚t gets streaky, but I鈥檝e done a decent job at keeping it more consistent than it used to be. There鈥檚 still work to do and it鈥檚 a process. It鈥檚 not something that鈥檚 going to happen overnight. There鈥檚 been improvements, for sure, and we鈥檙e going to keep improving. That consistency is what I鈥檓 looking for.鈥�

Playing in the U.S. Open 鈥渋s not something you expect to happen, but it鈥檚 something you dream of when you鈥檙e a kid,鈥� Pollo said. 鈥淚鈥檓 just going to enjoy the experience. Obviously, I want to play well and I鈥檒l do whatever I can to play well.

鈥淥verall, just being there in general is going to be a really great thing to experience.鈥�