UCLA is not practicing proper etiquette as the host of the 2003
Men’s Golf Pac-10 Championships, which began Monday at
Oakmont Country Club in Glendale. Instead of making their guests
feel welcome in sunny Southern California, the Bruins dug a deep
hole for their competitors with their play over the first two
rounds of the four-round tournament.
The Bruins’ six-man squad finished at six-over par on
Monday and had a seven-shot lead over second-place Stanford going
into today’s third round. UCLA’s second round of
two-over par was the lowest comprised team score of the first day
of the tournament.
“It is nice to be in town and not have to travel,”
UCLA head coach O.D. Vincent said. Vincent won the Pac-10
individual title in 1988 while playing for the University of
Washington.
Individually for the Bruins, junior Roy Moon is tied for third
place at one-under par and leads a team of five Bruins who placed
in the top 20 after day one.
Moon was one of only five players to have two rounds of even-par
or better on Monday.
Junior John Merrick is in a tie for seventh place at even-par
along with Arizona senior Ricky Barnes, winner of the 2002 U.S.
Amateur, widely considered to be the most prestigious golf
tournament in the world.
Redshirt junior Travis Johnson is in a tie for ninth place after
two rounds, and was the only Bruin in the first round to shoot
under par. Johnson’s up-and-down day featured eight birdies
and an eagle on the par-5 first hole (Johnson’s 10th hole of
the second round).
Junior Steve Conway followed his three-over par 75 in the first
round with a one-under par 71 in the second round. Conway’s
strong second round puts him in a tie for 11th and in a good
position to traverse up the leaderboard over the next two
rounds.
The team was rounded out by John Poucher, who is four-over par
and tied for 17th, and freshman Spencer Levin, who is tied for 46th
at 13-over par.
Oregon State’s Cameron Mackenzie is the early leader at
four-under par. MacKenzie’s first round of 69 was the only
sub-70 round on Monday.
The eventual winner will have his name etched among golfing
greats Tiger Woods, Phil Mickleson, Corey Pavin and Duffy Waldorf;
all of them are PGA Tour professionals and each has won the
men’s golf Pac-10 Championship.
“It’s a big tournament to win,” Vincent said.
“It’s quite an impressive list of names.”
Oakmont Country Club is one of the more storied golf courses in
Southern California. While not exceptionally long off the tee,
the course will challenge players’ short games and
decision-making.Â
“It’s pretty straight forward, not a tough
course,” Vincent said. “The key is to putt up the
hills.”
The old golf cliché of “Drive for show, putt for
dough” will be relevant this week.