The No. 1 UCLA men’s golf team solidified its already
bright future Thursday, signing of four nationally heralded
recruits. Headlining the incoming class is local product Daniel Im
out of La Mirada High School. Im, who is currently ranked the No.
10 boys’ golfer in the country according to Golfweek, was
named the 2003 Los Angeles Times Golfer of the Year. “Daniel
has had the most accomplishments in junior golf to this
point,” head coach O.D. Vincent said. “He’s the
most accomplished player.” Joining Im are local standouts
Brandon Christenson, a two-time MVP of the Foothill League out of
Valencia High School, and Fresno’s Kevin Chappell, who won
the Southern California Finals last year. Rounding out the
recruiting class is Craig Leslie out of Ferris High School in
Spokane, Washington. The Bruins will rely on their powerful
incoming class to replace the senior Fab-Four of Steve Conway,
Travis Johnson, John Merrick and Roy Moon. “It was an
important year for us losing four seniors,” Vincent said.
“We had a pretty big hole to fill. We needed to do well in
recruiting, and we not only did well, we did better than
that.” The incoming class, widely regarded as one of the
nation’s best, is a further testament to Vincent’s
transforming the program into one of the nation’s elite.
“(The recruits) can feel a real energy around our
program,” Vincent said. “We are to the point where we
can be a little bit selective in recruiting, which is a nice place
to be.” While watching and analyzing possible recruits,
Vincent takes a unique angle that emphasizes learning more about a
players’ toughness than their golf games. He wants to see
potential recruits struggle on the course. “When I watch
them, I want to see them play poorly because I want to see them
react to the tough things,” Vincent said.
PUTTING GREEN OPENS: UCLA will commemorate Jack
and Rhodine Gifford for their donation that led to the construction
of the golfing facilities on the IM field. A ceremony will take
place Saturday morning at 8 on the north side of the field.