Philip Francis stood on the 17th tee Monday down two holes in his match against Florida’s Tyler Brown with just two holes to play. The freshman had to win the final holes, perhaps the two toughest on the course, to tie the match.
That’s when Francis heard his UCLA golf teammate, junior Erik Flores, who was playing in a separate match in the same group.
“No big deal,” Flores said. “Just be clutch.”
That was the beginning of the end for Brown. Francis birdied the 17th after hitting a brilliant 2-iron 230 yards through 25 mile-per-hour winds into a green flanked by water and sand traps. If that wasn’t clutch enough, Francis rolled in a 12-foot par putt on 18 to tie the match.
Brown three-putted the first playoff hole, giving Francis the victory. UCLA went on to defeat Florida, advancing to the championship round of the Callaway Golf Collegiate Match Play Championship. The Bruins play Georgia Tech today for the title.
“Philip has really shown why he was one of the best junior golfers in the country,” coach Derek Freeman said. “He has fought every single match. He is such a fighter and a competitor; he’s awesome.”
Francis’ comeback win was an exclamation point on the Bruins’ first two days at the Oconee Course at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Ga.
UCLA won its first match against Minnesota, then swept Tennessee in the second round. And then there was the win over Florida to cap off a long day of golf Monday.
UCLA’s camaraderie has been key in the team match play competition. The team contests consist of five individual matches. The team that wins the majority of the matches advances to the next round. The Bruins have won 11 of the 15 matches they’ve played, losing just three and tying one.
UCLA entered the tournament unranked and relatively unknown, having played just one tournament this season.
“I think we’ve made a very good statement,” Freeman said. “People now know that we’re for real. People will now give us credit for being a very good golf team, and that’s all we ask for.
“But the players understand that the tournament is not over, the biggest match is (Georgia Tech).”
The No. 4 Yellow Jackets will pose a tough test for the Bruins. Georgia Tech’s top player, Chesson Hadley, is ranked by Golfweek as the second-best individual player in the country. And many of the Yellow Jacket players have played the Reynolds Plantation course a lot, while none of the Bruins had played it before this week.
Still, the Bruins have plenty of momentum, and they’re not exactly short on confidence either.
“If we play together as a team we’ll win,” Francis said. “Georgia Tech is going to have to play really well to beat us.”
It’s been a complete team effort for the Bruins. Their top player, senior All-American Kevin Chappell, has been dominant, winning his first three matches without a whole lot of trouble. He and Francis would likely be under par if this were a stroke-play event, which says a lot. The Oconee Course is very difficult and will host the 2008 PGA Championship, one of the biggest tournaments in professional golf.
“You can’t dispute that Kevin is one of the best players in the country right now,” Freeman said. “This is his time and he understands that.”
Freeman wants to play Flores and Francis together today because of the camaraderie the two have shown throughout the event.
Francis will play in the top spot for UCLA against Hadley, whom he has beaten in a previous match-play event two years ago. Flores will take on Georgia Tech’s Taylor Hall, and Chappell will face Cameron Tringale. Rounding out the five-man team will be UCLA’s Craig Leslie, who will face Paul Haley, and James Lee, who will play against J.T. Griffin.
If the Bruins win they could take over the No. 1 ranking, as top-ranked Charlotte fell in the first round to Coastal Carolina.
BRUIN REUNION: Freeman spoke with former UCLA coach O.D. Vincent at the tournament. Vincent was rooting for the Bruins after his Duke team was eliminated by Florida.
“O.D. was so excited for us,” Freeman said. “He wants us to do well. If Duke’s not going to win, he wants us to win. He’s got love for the program.”
CART GOLF: In a bizarre move, the tournament has allowed players to use carts. The organizers hoped to speed up the pace of play to get all of the matches finished before sunset.
Professional golfers are not allowed to use carts. In essentially every competitive golf tournament, players either walk and carry their own bags or walk with caddies.