Before the postseason commenced, UCLA men’s golf coach
O.D. Vincent knew his team needed to make an adjustment.
For most of the Bruins’ regular season tournaments, one
player had played exceptionally well while the rest of the squad
struggled to stay around par. In the postseason, Vincent said,
there needed to be a change.
“We can’t rely on just one player,” Vincent
said before the start of the Pac-10 Championships. “Everyone
needs to contribute.”
After three rounds of the conference championship held at Walla
Walla Country Club in Walla Walla, Wash., it’s become quite
apparent that his team was listening.
Leading the tournament after two rounds, No. 15 UCLA fell to
second place Tuesday afternoon behind No. 14 Arizona State,
carrying a collective team total of 4-under par heading into
today’s final round.
The Bruins will begin the day trailing the Sun Devils by a
meager three shots, a margin they saw Arizona State whittle away at
with relative ease on Tuesday.
Both teams look to have solidified themselves a top-two finish,
with third-place Stanford currently 12 shots in back of UCLA.
Which team leaves Walla Walla with the distinction of being
named the conference champion is most likely the one that navigates
the course’s many water hazards unscathed.
Not known for its length at just over 6,600 yards, Walla Walla
instead intimidates players with its small greens requiring
pinpoint approaches from the fairway and a creek that comes into
play on eight holes.
It’s these potential pitfalls that made UCLA’s team
performance on Tuesday all the more impressive.
All six of the Bruins competing at the conference tournament
posted a score between 69 (2-under par) and 72 (1-over par) on
Tuesday, arguably UCLA’s most consistent team performance of
the season. And of the 108 combined holes the Bruins played during
the third round, only one resulted in a double bogey or worse.
And while UCLA may not have received the individual breakout
performance like the one freshman Kevin Chappell delivered with a
5-under par 67 in his first round, each member of the team walked
off Walla Walla on Tuesday knowing he contributed.
Sophomore Peter Campbell avenged a poor performance on Monday,
birdeying his first hole en route to shooting a 69 in the third
round. Senior John Poucher continued his impressive return to the
traveling team with a second consecutive 1-under par 71. And even
though Chappell had the day’s only double bogey, he
didn’t let it affect his round, managing to still post an
even-par 71.
Still, the 1-under par team total on Tuesday’s third round
was not enough to keep Arizona State in the Bruins’ shadow,
as the Sun Devils posted a tournament-best 6-under par team total
on the day.