Heading into the Pac-10 Championships, the question surrounding
the UCLA men’s golf team was how a squad mainly composed of
underclassmen would handle the pressure of its first postseason
tournament. The answer, apparently, is quite well. For the first
time in five months and 23 days, the Bruins finally returned to
where they’re professed to be most comfortable: in the lead.
After two rounds of the Pac-10 Championships at Walla Walla Country
Club in Walla Walla, Wash., the Bruins hold a slim two-shot edge
over the Sun Devils, posting a collective team total of 3-under
par. While the Bruins have never once had the luxury of looking
down on their competition during the entire spring season,
Monday’s impressive performance has them in an unfamiliar
position. But after a season of frustrating finishes and difficulty
meeting expectations, any lead is a welcome one for UCLA
men’s golf coach O.D. Vincent. Believing that his teams are
much more comfortable playing from in front of the field instead of
being forced to catch up, Vincent will finally get to see how his
team responds as the frontrunner. And while it may not be a
surprise that No. 15 UCLA, the second-highest ranked team in the
conference behind No. 14 Arizona State, is atop the leaderboard,
the way the team got there is. Normally reliant on senior John
Poucher or heralded freshman Daniel Im to lead them, the Bruins
were instead paced by freshman Kevin Chappell to the early lead.
The Fresno native fired rounds of 67 and 70 on the par-71 course to
finish Monday at 5-under par and in a tie for second place. Having
posted only one top-20 finish in five tournaments prior to the
conference championship, Chappell was the only Bruin to post
consecutive under-par rounds at Walla Walla, with his 67 tying for
the tournament’s low round. While Chappell’s impressive
start highlighted UCLA’s first day at the conference
championship, it shared some of the spotlight with the long-awaited
return of Poucher to the traveling squad. Having missed the last
three official tournaments after struggling through a good portion
of the spring season, Poucher showed a glimpse of what his coach
and teammates expected all year. After shooting rounds of 72 and 70
on Monday, Poucher, along with sophomore teammate Chris Heintz, is
at even-par with 36 holes still to play. The team did not return
phone calls seeking comment.
FRINGE FACTS: UCLA, along with the rest of the nine-team field,
probably already endured its toughest day of competition. The
Bruins played 36 holes Monday over the course of 12 hours, but only
have to play single rounds today and Wednesday … After struggling
with an opening-round 6-over par 77, sophomore Joakim Renstrom
turned it around in the afternoon, firing a 2-under par 69. It was
the largest difference between the two rounds on the Bruin
team.