M. golf: Putting in good odds

Anyone who has ever seen “Caddyshack” knows golf is
a game of inches. On the course, the difference between glory and
defeat is seemingly always a foot away. Golf is just that
fickle. 

The UCLA men’s golf team knows how close it came to
hoisting the NCAA Championship trophy on Oklahoma’s devilish
Karsten Creek Golf Course last spring. A few putts here, a lucky
bounce there, and it would have been the Bruins standing on
Karsten’s 18th green as champions. Instead, UCLA fell six
shots short, and it was Clemson who survived to be crowned king of
the day.

But last year was a miraculous one for second-year coach O.D.
Vincent and his Bruins. Starting the season unranked, UCLA emerged
from virtual anonymity and surprised everyone with its
dominance. For what was a dormant program, seven tournament
wins, three individual champions, the Pac-10 Championship and the
NCAA West Regional Championship spoke volumes about an impending
change. A change for the better that has UCLA eyeing a national
title.

“The way we played last year, there’s no reason to
think we won’t improve this year and win the thing,”
senior John Merrick said. “We’ve put so much work
in, it would definitely be a disappointment if we didn’t win
it.”

After last year’s unprecedented success, this season
promises to be even better, but relatively different. 

Expectations are much higher, as UCLA opens the season ranked
No. 4 in the country, and will no longer have the luxury of
sneaking up on its competition. 

But more importantly, the 2004 season will feel different
because, for the senior Fab Four of Steve Conway, Travis Johnson,
John Merrick and Roy Moon, this year will be their last on a golf
course together.

“We are looking forward to our four seniors accomplishing
all they want to accomplish in their college career,” Vincent
said. “For four of those guys, there’s only one spring
season left, so there’s a sense of urgency (to win the
championship) in that respect.”

The road to the Cascades Golf Resort and Country Club in Hot
Springs, Va., the site of the 2004 NCAA Championship, begins
Wednesday in Hawaii when UCLA tees it up in the TaylorMade Big
Island Classic. While the Bruins will undoubtedly be focused on the
task at hand, there’s no doubt some may reminisce on their
times together.

“This is the last time around,” said Merrick, the
reigning Pac-10 individual champion. “We’re going
to Hawaii this week, and I’m definitely cherishing the trips
a little bit more now. The group of guys that we have is a
great group of guys. We’ve been through thick and thin for
four years, and to win it all would be a great way to finish it off
for us.”

And winning has not been a problem for this team, which picked
up right where they left off last year. In the abbreviated
fall season, the Bruins captured three tournaments and crowned
three different individual winners, most important of which came at
the Fall Preview held on the aforementioned Cascades Country Club.
Junior John Poucher, who struggled at the NCAA Championship last
year, laid the demons of that performance to rest by claiming the
individual title and leading the Bruins to victory on the course
they’ll most likely be returning to in June.

In Vincent’s short tenure in Westwood, UCLA has won an
astounding 10 of the 20 tournaments it has entered, a number
unheard of in golf. To put that into perspective, Tiger Woods,
the most accomplished golfer on the PGA Tour, only wins 25 percent
of his starts.

“To win 50 percent of your tournaments as a team is
staggering,” Vincent said. “But while the stat is fun
to look at, unless we win one of our first two events, we’ll
be falling behind.”

Their strategy for winning is simple. Play hard, play well,
and if one person doesn’t have their best round, they can
count on the other four players to pick up the slack. 
It’s no secret that UCLA’s greatest strength is its
depth, a rare sight in collegiate golf. On any given day, any
one of the five Bruin starters can post a low number and walk away
with an individual crown. 

“We’re basically playing tag, telling each other
it’s your turn to win,” Merrick said. “It’s
rare to see on a team four or five players playing well at the same
time, but that’s exactly what we’re doing,”

And so what began as a strong nucleus four years ago will make
its final trek toward achieving the ultimate goal that has thus far
remained elusive. According to Vincent, the one thing that makes
this team more championship-caliber than last year’s is the
simple fact that it’s been a year. Their golf games are
better than they were a year ago today. They now have a
year’s worth of invaluable experience under their
belt. It’s now time to show what a year can do.

“It was a great year last year, but at the same time, when
we saw Clemson win the championship, we thought we were pretty good
competition with them, if not better,” Merrick said.
“This year is our chance to do it now.”

The championship is in June.  The season starts tomorrow.
In the four months in between, Vincent’s message to his
players is crystal clear. Cherish each shot, each round, and each
potential victory for what it’s worth, because you never know
when the bounces will stop going your way.

Golf is just that fickle.

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