HOT SPRINGS, Va. “”mdash; Standing on the 203-yard, par-3 18th
tee drenched in a persistent downpour, UCLA senior Roy Moon thought
his team needed a miracle.
Moon pulled a 6-iron from his bag, took dead aim at the
precarious pin, and let fly with the final tee shot of his
collegiate career.
The ball, which never left the flag, came crashing down a
half-inch short of the hole and caved in a side of the cup before
spinning back to six feet short of the pin.
“Given the circumstances, that was probably the best shot
I’ve ever hit in my life,” Moon said. “A miracle
was literally half an inch short.”
But not even a miracle could have salvaged what UCLA had already
squandered several holes before at the NCAA Championships ““
the lead.
Instead of triumphantly watching the groups finish their rounds
on the 18th hole of the Cascades Course in Hot Springs, Va., a
scenario that seemed almost certain only a day before, the Bruins
were resigned to witness No. 20 California navigate its way through
the storm and the course with laser-like precision.
The Golden Bears quickly erased the Bruins’ entire
eight-shot lead and fired a 1-under par team total in
Friday’s final round to finish the championship at 14-over
par, six shots ahead of second-place UCLA.
“I was ready to pass out,” Cal coach Steve Desimone
said. “I told the kids that if we played one great round,
we’d win the national championship, and lo and behold, here
we are.”
For the Bruins, it was a scenario that seemed unfathomable only
a day before.
“We figured we had a pretty sizable lead, and having the
momentum we had from the third day, we thought we were going to
finish it off,” senior John Merrick said. “It sucks to
see it end like that.”
UCLA’s five-shot lead going into the final round and its
championship hopes were quickly washed away in the stagnant
Virginia rain Friday.
The team shot a collective 13-over par team total, its highest
of the tournament, and finished the championship at 20-over par and
with a silver trophy to take home. Not a single Bruin turned in a
round under par in the final round.
“We were a little tight and nervous going out,” UCLA
coach O.D. Vincent said. “There wasn’t a long putt that
went in or someone chipping in that gave us a jolt until Roy
(Moon’s) shot on 18. Then it was too late.”
Moon’s shot not only symbolized the Bruins’
championship run, but marked the theme of the past two seasons.
On the verge of something dynamic and awe-inspiring, the Bruins
fell just short of validating their success.
In this case, six strokes short.
“It’s a little sad because everything came to an
end,” said senior Travis Johnson, UCLA’s highest
individual finisher at fifth place with 3-under par.
“We fought our hearts out and I was grinding my ass off,
fighting for every shot. It’s kind of the same feeling as
last year, but there are no more runs and no more opportunities to
win it.”
Cal’s surging start placed UCLA on its heels, and though
the Bruins resisted the charge on the front nine, they fell apart
on the back nine. After 11 holes, UCLA came to the monstrous
476-yard par-4 12th, still with a legitimate shot at the title.
The team left the hole fatally wounded.
Junior John Poucher double-bogeyed the hole, while Merrick and
senior Steve Conway triple-bogeyed. Vincent stood helplessly in the
12th fairway, watching the impossible unfold in front of his
eyes.
“Before No. 12, we were hanging around pretty
tough,” Vincent said. “But it was definitely No. 12
where it started to go in the other direction.”
After that hole, pumping fists were replaced with idle stares.
The friendly clubs that had carried the Bruins up to that point
were now the victims of the players’ angst.
The dream, which ever so faintly carried a pulse beyond the 12th
hole, died when Merrick four-putted from 20 feet for double-bogey
on the final hole. It was only then that the harsh realization
began to set in. It was over.
Not only was the final round a disappointing end to the
championships, but a painful conclusion to the collegiate careers
of the senior “Fab Four” of Johnson, Moon, Merrick and
Conway.
“Our program is going to take a large step backwards
without them as part of it,” Vincent said. “This will
be a huge loss.
“As a team, I don’t think we can duplicate what
we’ve done the last two years.”
For Moon, the loss was disappointing, but won’t be as
difficult to cope with as another stark realization. From this
point forward in his golfing career, when he takes a glance across
the fairway, his gaze won’t be met with that of a
teammate.
“It’s finally starting to hit me,” Moon said.
“The biggest thing is, we’re best of
friends.”
He couldn’t go on.