By Sean Green Daily Bruin Contributor
Leading by two entering the final round of the Anteater
Invitational on March 28, UCLA senior golfer Brandon DiTullio fired
a 2-under par round of 70 to win his first tournament of the year
and lead the Bruins to a third-place team finish.
The No. 20 Bruins shot the best round of the final day to finish
eight strokes behind tournament winner Washington with a total of
894.
The No. 23 Huskies won the tournament by six strokes over No. 14
Stanford. Host UC Irvine and Colorado State rounded out the top
five.
"We were probably in the lead with three or four holes to play,"
UCLA head coach Brad Sherfy said. "We got some tough breaks and
just lost some ground down the stretch. DiTullio had a great
tournament, though."
DiTullio’s 3-under par total (67-76-70) was four strokes better
than second-place Les Phillips of North Texas.
"We knew we were playing well," DiTullio said. "But there was no
way to know what the teams ahead of us were doing. You just have to
play your own game."
As a team, the Bruins struggled early in the tournament only to
come back with an impressive performance in the final round.
The opening round included a solid round by DiTullio, as well as
six birdies and a 1-over par 73 from senior Jason Semelsberger.
Freshman Travis Johnson shot 79, junior Kevin Bodlovich posted
an 81 and sophomore Parker McLachlin, who has been hot of late,
shot a disappointing 84. Sherfy called McLachlin’s tournament his
worst of the year.
The second round was even worse for the Bruins. Only Johnson
shot par or better, shooting an even-par 72. The team shot a
combined 304 (+16).
"We played terribly early on," Sherfy said. "We just weren’t
hitting on all cylinders."
UCLA finally turned it around, though, in Tuesday’s final
round.
Entering play, the men found themselves in a fifth-place tie. At
the end of the day, UCLA sat alone in third.
McLachlin turned in an early 74, which was to be the team’s
highest contributing score.
Semelsberger shot 74 as well and Johnson fired another solid
even-par round.
DiTullio, playing in the final grouping, carded a 70 to shoot
the Bruins into third.
"Because of finals, a lot of us hadn’t picked up a club in over
a week prior to our practice round," DiTullio said. "For some of
us, it wasn’t a good thing, but for me, the break seemed to
help."
In addition to DiTullio’s win, Semelsberger tied for 19th place
with Johnson, McLachlin tied for 88th and Bodlovich tied for
95th.
After their successful showing at the Anteater Invitational,
UCLA is now preparing for the ASU Thunderbird Savane Invitational
beginning April 15.
"It’s going to be a great field," Sherfy said. "But if we start
to get four or five guys playing well together, we’re liable to do
some damage."
The Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz., will play host to some
of the best teams in the country. The competition will be tough,
but the Bruins will have two weeks to prepare.