This week the UCLA men’s golf team faces a different sort of test at the CordeValle Collegiate, a stroke-play event where the Bruins will face the two other top teams in the Pac-10, USC and Stanford, and use a six-man team instead of the five-man team it has used in its first events.
The Bruins have aced the test so far after one day of competition. Derek Freeman’s team is in first place and has a 10-shot lead over both the Cardinal and the Trojans with 36 holes left to play.
Junior James Lee had a phenomenal first round of 65 (7 under par) to lead all players. He shot a 31 on the front nine with three birdies and an eagle. He had no bogeys in the round.
The Bruins are 7 under par as a team and have distanced themselves from the two Pac-10 foes. But they still hold just a slim, one-shot lead over Coastal Carolina.
A win would give the Bruins a perfect fall record.
“This is all I can ask for,” Freeman said. “If you win three times, that’s what you’re supposed to do. I couldn’t ask for more results-wise. But I think we’re always trying to get better, and we’re still going to work really, really hard this offseason.”
The Bruins are hosting this tournament at the CordeValle Resort. The course was designed by famed designer Robert Trent Jones Sr., and Freeman said that it has played very difficult so far this week.
UCLA is using a six-man lineup of James Lee, junior Lucas Lee, senior Kevin Chappell, freshman Philip Francis, senior Craig Leslie and junior Erik Flores.
Lucas Lee is 2 under par. Francis shot an even-par 72 after a double bogey on the par-5 18th hole. Chappell is also at even par.
The undefeated Bruins are currently ranked No. 5 in the Golfweek poll, but they would probably be ranked higher had they played in more tournaments. The team’s mind-set is very positive, Freeman said.
“I think the team chemistry is incredibly good right now,” Freeman said. “All these guys feel very good and everyone knows their role. We’re looking forward with confidence.”
O.D. Vincent, the team’s former coach, made the decision to play a very light fall schedule and then play a lot of tournaments in the spring, leading up to the postseason in May. He wanted to focus more on practice in the fall.
“I’m happy how (the fall) has played out,” Freeman said. “Will I do it exactly the same next year? Probably not.”
The tournament has also given UCLA an opportunity to play more than just its top players. This week, for example, Freeman had a chance to play freshman Connor Driscoll as an individual. Driscoll shot an even-par 72 after birdies on two of the final four holes and is in a tie for 17th place.
“This fall has been very important because we want to see how our guys play in tournaments,” Freeman said. “And this week we have a chance to see all our guys play.”
The tournament is unique because it uses six-man teams. Most tournaments use five-man teams, where the top four scores in each round are counted. The CordeValle Collegiate’s format uses the top five scores on each six-man team, just like the Pac-10 Championships.
“It does help (to play in six-man events),” Freeman said. “We want to do it because this is how the Pac-10 tournament is played and because we want more of our guys to have the opportunity to play.”