It can’t always be a cakewalk.
Having been in contention to win nearly every tournament so far
this season, the No. 3 UCLA men’s golf team found itself in
an unfamiliar position Tuesday.
Staring up, way up, at the leader.
Never mustering a serious charge in the final round of the
Cleveland Golf Classic at nearby North Ranch Country Club in
Westlake, all the Bruins could do was watch as No. 14 Texas ran
away from the rest of the 17-team field.
The Longhorns shot a collective five- under par for the
three-round tournament, the only team to post a score under par at
North Ranch, and finished 15 shots ahead of second-place USC
(10-over par) and 28 shots ahead of UCLA (23-over par), which tied
Arizona State for sixth place.
For an event in which they took home the team and individual
titles last year, the Bruins didn’t look the part of hungry
defending champions.
UCLA, the highest-ranking team in the competition, struggled
mightily in Monday’s first round, posting a team-total of
nine-over par and digging themselves a double-digit stroke deficit
they would never erase.
Senior Steve Conway, whose win last year at North Ranch was the
first of his collegiate career, shot two-under par in his final
round and paced the Bruins with a three-round total of two-over
par, good enough to land him in a tie for ninth place.
Joining Conway as the other Bruin to go low Tuesday was senior
John Merrick, who shot a three-under par 68 to finish the
tournament at four-over par and tied for 19th place.Â
Senior Travis Johnson, whose second-round five-under par 66 was
tied for lowest of the tournament, finished in a tie for 26th place
at six-over par.
UCLA didn’t receive much help from senior Roy Moon and
junior John Poucher, who both struggled and finished out of the top
50.
The Bruins compete next week in the Las Vegas Founders
Collegiate Championship.