W. golf: Palpable pressure felt heading into regional

Winning the Pac-10 Championship is considered an accomplishment.
Winning the NCAA Championship is considered a once-in-a-liftetime
opportunity. Yet winning the tournament that comes in between the
two, the NCAA Regionals, is merely considered a relief. Ask
collegiate golf coaches which tournament scares them the most, and
the majority will answer that the regional is the one event that
makes them sweat. That’s because the regional doesn’t
recognize past success or future potential, but instead forces
every team to prove its worth over a three-day stretch of golf. The
pressure heading into the regional, which UCLA women’s golf
coach Carrie Forsyth labeled as “palpable,” thus
creates a free-for-all for one of eight available berths to the
NCAA Championships. So when top-seeded UCLA tees off today at the
NCAA West Regional in Las Cruces, New Mexico, it will be on equal
footing with the rest of the 21-team field, knowing that its
future, which has always been extended to the next tournament on
the calendar, is uncertain from this point forward. Of course, UCLA
is not most teams. The Bruins have won an astounding four
consecutive postseason tournaments dating back to their runaway
Pac-10 Championship victory in 2004, and nine of their last 10
regular season events. They have arguably the country’s most
consistent player in Charlotte Mayorkas, one of the nation’s
best freshmen in Amie Cochran, and as good a supporting cast as any
other team with Susie Mathews, Hannah Jun and Melissa Martin. Yet
when the Bruins take to the New Mexico State University Golf Course
in the first of three rounds today, they will do their best to not
overlook their competition, the course and the conditions. Aside
from UCLA, only No. 5 Georgia, No. 7 Oklahoma State and No. 9
Tennessee are currently ranked in the top 15. Compared to last
year’s NCAA West Regional, which featured six teams in the
top 15, this year’s field appears to be weaker. The Bruins,
however, will be at a slight disadvantage having never played on
the University Golf Course until Wednesday’s practice round.
The par-72, 6,106-yard course is characterized by its undulating
greens, which are well-guarded by sand traps. However, the typical
desert course does not appear to be too intimidating, with a
straightforward layout with water coming into play on only two
holes. Still, no matter how much the course appears ready for the
taking, the Bruins maintain they won’t stray from their
conservative approach and will aggressively go after a golf course
they’re still getting used to.

FRINGE FACTS: The New Mexico State University Golf Course is
rated as one of the best public golf courses in the country and,
compared to other courses hosting NCAA events, is quite affordable.
During the year, the public can play the University Golf Course for
as little as $20. … UCLA will tee off this morning starting at
8:30 a.m. and will be paired with Georgia and Oklahoma State.

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