For a team that prides itself on being different than last
year’s, the UCLA women’s golf team is doing its best to
dispel any apparent contrasts.
Yet when considering that last season’s team claimed the
national title, drawing comparisons may not be a bad thing after
all.
After the first round of the NCAA Championships at the Meadows
Course at Sunriver Resort in Redmond, Ore., the Bruins (4-over
par), just like last year, find themselves in second place,
trailing cross-town rival USC by one stroke entering today’s
second round.
And like a year ago, UCLA needed to use its greatest two assets,
consistency and patience, to combat the harsh weather conditions
and soggy course in the opening round.
The Bruins, who teed off in the second-to-last pairing Tuesday,
faced hostile weather, which included intermittent rains, winds up
to 20 mph and temperatures dipping below the 40s.
It all amounted to second-ranked UCLA, along with the rest of
the 25-team field, stumbling as soon as it got off the first tee.
At times during the front nine, UCLA was staring up at as many as
13 teams above them on the leaderboard, such as Pepperdine and
Furman University.
“You can say we started off a little rough,” said
sophomore Hannah Jun, who got three bogeys without a birdie on her
first nine for 3-over par 38.
“It was no more than 40 degrees out there, and it was
mentally draining out there. I’m sure everyone could have
played a lot better than they did today. But four-over par is not
bad at all after the conditions today.” Yet as the Bruins
made the turn on Tuesday, so too did their golf games.
Senior leader Charlotte Mayorkas posted three birdies on the
opening four holes of her back nine. Jun, who felt the pins on the
first nine holes were tucked in tough locations, put her front-nine
troubles behind en route to shooting a 1-under par 35 on the
back.
After Amie Cochran putted out on the par-4 18th hole to shoot an
even-par 36 on the back nine to end the Bruins’ round, UCLA
had brought itself back.
“We’re just steady,” Jun said.
On a day in which the conditions presented never-ending
challenges, it was UCLA’s ability to navigate the pitfalls
that has the Bruins looking down on most of their competition.
Though scores were abnormally high on Tuesday, the average round
hovering at 4-over par, not one Bruin scored above a bogey after 90
holes.
While UCLA believes its length off the tee will pay off at the
championships, it has no problem resorting to last season’s
mantra: Play smart, consistent golf and let the other teams
collapse from their own mistakes.