Correction appended
The youth movement of the UCLA men’s golf team is quickly
turning into a winning machine.
UCLA won the first tournament, tied their dual match, and came
in fifth in their second tournament ““ the only blemish on a
long stretch of competition that began in the middle of last
week.
Once again, the win was engineered by a group of underclassmen
who have experienced anything but losing in their young collegiate
career.
The Bruins overwhelmed a deep field on Wednesday as they claimed
the win in the National Invitational Tournament hosted by the
University of Arizona.
The Bruins won their ninth tournament of the season, matching
their total tournament wins of last season with two more still
remaining before the Pac-10 Championships are set to begin on April
24.
The Bruins ended the first round one stoke up after freshman
Erik Flores shot a 7-under par 65. Flores was complimented by his
teammates, who shot a combined 4-under par.
Over the next two days the Bruins held out for the win,
finishing the tournament even at par and seven strokes over a
second-place Arizona State.
“I was really proud of the team,” coach O.D. Vincent
said. “It finished well over the final holes, despite windy
conditions. Everyone contributed ““ it was a well-balanced
effort. The fact that the (NCAA) Regionals will be held there gave
us a lot of confidence.”
UCLA then halved a dual match with Augusta State on Thursday, a
match Vincent planned to help sharpen his team for their upcoming
tournament.
Freshman James Lee and Flores both won their respective matches,
while sophomores Craig Leslie and Daniel Im lost. Sophomore Kevin
Chappell halved his match, leaving the dual match tied as each team
got ready to move on to Saturday’s Augusta State
Invitational.
On Saturday UCLA faced nine of the nation’s top 31 teams,
and while the Bruins were the highest-ranked team of the bunch, a
close tournament was predicted.
UCLA went on to shoot a round of 289 (+1), but it was not enough
to make serious moves up the leaderboard. The Bruins finished
3-over par, 13 stokes behind Coastal Carolina (-10).
Several Bruins used the individual competition of the tournament
to bolster the team’s perceived dominance in the West.
Flores tied for third place (-3), and Im shot his way to sixth
(-2). Chappell, at even par, tied for 13th, but neither Leslie nor
Lee managed to break into the top 50, as the two shot a combined
19-over par.