Perhaps all the women’s golf team required for success was
simply a change in scenery. Basking under the Mexican sun, the No.
2 Bruins captured only their third victory all season in the Lorena
Ochoa Invitational at the Guadalajara Country Club. They won by a
decisive seven-stroke margin over second-place USC and 10 strokes
over third-place and heavily favored Duke. But it wasn’t just
how the Bruins won. It was also who they beat. The tournament was a
loaded field with the top three teams in the nation, No. 1 Duke,
UCLA and No. 3 Arizona State, competing. The win came in stark
contrast to the mediocre performances UCLA turned in at its
previous two tournaments. The team finished sixth in the Regional
Challenge in Palos Verdes and third in the Wildcat Invitational
last week. During those tournaments, UCLA had to compete without
standout junior Hannah Jun. But those disappointments faded when
the team traveled south of the border. “There was some
question (of winning) without Hannah. We put that to rest in our
own minds,” UCLA coach Carrie Forsyth said. “We beat
(Duke and Arizona State) soundly. A win against ‘SC is always
good too.” Leading the way was highly touted freshman Jane
Park, who placed second. Park did not have to carry the team by
herself, as Tiffany Joh and Amie Cochran placed third and fifth,
respectively. Of the five golfers who competed for UCLA, four
finished in the top 20. UCLA started strong, ending the first day
of competition on Monday leading the 11-team tournament. A shaky
finish on Tuesday resulted in USC claiming the lead. But the Trojan
dominance was to be short-lived. The Bruins were able to regain
their first-round form, battling back from a three-stroke deficit.
UCLA shot a final round score of two-under par and won the
tournament by seven strokes. But it wasn’t always this easy
for the Bruins. The team was plagued by inconsistent performances
during the months following its first-place victory in the UNLV
Rebel Invitational in November. UCLA finished third in its final
tournament of 2005, and finished lower than third in both of its
tournaments in 2006. This up-and-down play hurt the confidence of
several Bruins who had never struggled before in their young
careers. Golfers such as Park, who was the best prep player in the
country over the last two years and even contemplated becoming a
professional golfer instead of attending UCLA, had won consistently
since high school. Experiencing that little lull was a change of
pace for several Bruins, and they had to adjust accordingly.
“The biggest thing overall was the girls got fired up,”
Forsyth said. “They didn’t like not playing well. I
think this is the boost that we need to build our
confidence.”
OCHOA INVITATIONAL: The inception of the
Bruins’ recent tournament was led by two Pac-10 golfers,
Lorena Ochoa and Sophia Sherida. Ochoa plays professionally now in
the LPGA and previously played at the University of Arizona.
Sheridan, who currently plays for California, was present at the
tournament. The athletes created the tournament as a charity
benefit and set the event in their birthplace of Guadalajara.