In his short career at Iowa State, Scott Fernandez has become used to success.

Last year, Fernandez had the best freshman golf season in Cyclone history. This year, he has five top-10 finishes in six tournaments, is coming off a first-place finish at the Furman Intercollegiate and is on pace to break the school record for lowest average round, making him one of the best golfers in ISU history.

But on April 6, 2013, for perhaps the first time all season, Fernandez will not be the best golfer on the meet roster. In fact, he may not even be the second- or third-best.

Instead, Fernandez and the ISU men’s golf team will be playing the role of David in a match against several Goliaths at this weekend’s ASU Thunderbird Invite. According to Golfweek.com, the Cyclones will face No. 1 California and No. 3 New Mexico.

“Cal and New Mexico have had great seasons,” said ISU coach Andrew Tank. “They have really proven that they are the best, so this is an opportunity for us to see how we stack up and it’s going to be great preparation for us as we look forward to the Big 12 Championship, which will probably be the second-best field, probably, to this event.”

But California and New Mexico aren’t the only teams that will present a challenge to Iowa State in the hot desert of Arizona.

Nine of the 17 opposing teams rank higher than No. 91 Iowa State in Golfweek’s team rankings. Of those teams, four rank in the top 50: No. 1 California, No. 3 New Mexico, No. 33 UNLV and No. 44 Arizona State.

With good teams come good players, and there will be no shortage in Arizona this weekend. Of Golfweek’s top 50 players in the nation, 10 of them will put their talents on display at the ASU Thunderbird Invite.

Despite being ranked No. 18 in the nation, Fernandez is ranked lower than three of the players competing, including the nation’s No. 1 player and California standout, Michael Kim.

“It pumps you up for sure,” Fernandez said of playing top competition. “The other guys are really excited for that, too. I think we have a great opportunity to get our ranking up and we are in good shape right now.”

The team will likely need Fernandez to play at the record-setting pace he has played with all season to finish near the top of the leader board, but Tank said the team effort needs to improve from earlier this season.

“For us to win, we need to get all five players playing well,” Tank said. “Obviously, Scott’s an important piece to the puzzle, but really no different than any of the other five guys.”

Riding one of their best finishes of the season at the Furman Intercollegiate and facing some of the best competition in the nation, the Cyclones have an opportunity to turn around what has been a sometimes frustrating season for Tank. 

“We certainly have a lot to play for in the month of April and I’m excited about the opportunity we have at Arizona State,” Tank said. “It’s a great field, it’s going to be great weather and it’s a great golf course.”

Fernandez is also positive about the Cyclones’ chances against the premiere talent. Matching up against some of the best collegiate players also doesn’t intimidate him.

“I like my game right now,” Fernandez said. “I’ve been working on the right things and I’m confident. I’ve been talking to the guys, and we’re really looking forward to this opportunity. It’s just another thing to see where we are at — how far are we, how close are we to the great teams in the nation — so I think it will be good.”

The first round of the ASU Thunderbird Invitational will start April 5, followed by the second and third rounds to be played through April 7.