Golf coach leaves for Duke

Last week, it was announced that UCLA men’s golf coach O.D. Vincent will leave the Bruins to take over the same position at Duke.

In his five-year tenure at UCLA, Vincent helped rebuild a program that had been struggling and returned the Bruins to national prominence and title contention. In Vincent’s first year, his team captured UCLA’s first men’s golf Pac-10 title since 1985, and their first-ever NCAA Western Regional title.

“It was an honor to be a part of such an amazing institution,” Vincent said. “As a temporary caretaker of the men’s golf program, I gave it my best and hope it is poised for even greater success.”

Given Vincent’s success at UCLA, his jump to Duke may seem puzzling. Under Vincent, Bruin golfers recorded four top-10 NCAA finishes, two Regional titles, countless tournament victories, and finished as high as third in the NCAA tournament.

Even more, UCLA is expected to be highly ranked next season as all five of the men’s golf team starters will be returning.

But this past March, college golf suffered a heavy blow when Rod Myers, Duke’s coach of 34 years, passed away.

Duke’s athletic department began targeting Vincent to fill their coaching vacancy quickly.

With one of the most storied golf programs in the country and their own on-campus golf course, something which UCLA lacks, the Duke job was too appealing to pass up and Vincent accepted the offer.

“It is a great opportunity for our family,” Vincent said regarding his decision.

“I am excited to have a golf course right on campus and the chance to have my kids be involved with my career. It was absolutely a quality of life and family decision.”

One gift Vincent will leave UCLA is his incoming recruiting class, which is headlined by Philip Francis, the top-ranked golfer among all incoming freshmen for next year. The addition of Francis has a lot to do with UCLA’s projected top ranking, although Vincent’s departure puts a different spin on Francis’ arrival.

“It’s tough, because one of the main reasons I went to UCLA was because of O.D.,” Francis said. “But I’m still planning on going there.”

Between Francis and the UCLA’s talented returning team, the Bruins may very well be deserving of a No. 1 ranking, but they need a new coach.

Derek Freeman, Vincent’s former top assistant, has been handling summer recruiting.

Although it is not clear whether or not Freeman will be promoted to head coach, Vincent believes Freeman is the right man for the job. He also insists that he will invite Freeman to join him on his staff at Duke if UCLA elects to hire someone else.

“I have made it clear that if Derek is not at UCLA, I would love to have him with me,” Vincent said.

Freeman joined the Bruins last season after having a long and accomplished career at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma City University.

“I originally came to UCLA for two reasons,” Freeman said. “Coach Vincent is one of the premier coaches in the field and I jumped at the opportunity to learn from him and help in developing one of the best golf programs in the country. Now, getting this chance to possibly become the next head coach is incredible. I believe that I can continue and build upon coach Vincent’s dream of having the finest collegiate men’s golf program in the country. I would love to become the next head coach.”

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