It was a humble claim but a bold one.
Earlier this week, before the Pac-10 men’s golf championships started on Monday, UCLA’s Kevin Chappell listed off the favorites for the individual tournament. He started with two rivals ““ USC’s Jamie Lovemark and Rory Hie.
“You can put my name in there, too,” he added. Today Chappell is in position to back up that claim.
The senior All-American is in sole possession of first place entering the final round of the Pac-10 Championships at the Meadow Club in Fairfax. Chappell sits at 4-under par, one stroke ahead of five players tied for second place. He has fired rounds of 70, 68 and 71, in large part thanks to his dominance on the course’s three par-fives, on which he is six strokes below par.
“The best way for any individual to help the team is to play well,” Chappell said. “If I don’t win and UCLA does, that’s still the best thing for me.”
Unfortunately for Chappell, none of the other Bruins have played nearly as well as he has this week.
The Bruins are in a disappointing fourth place after two days of competition, 12 strokes behind first-place USC.
UCLA had played great during the first two rounds Monday, but struggled badly Tuesday to slip to a point where they are a long shot to win the championship.
Coming into the tournament the Bruins were considered a favorite because the Pac-10 format counts six players’ scores instead of the typical five, and the Bruins have one of the deepest teams in the country. But that depth didn’t materialize Tuesday.
While Chappell shot another stellar 71, all five of the other Bruins shot 74 or above. Sophomore Jason Kang shot an 80, and juniors Lucas Lee and Erik Flores both shot 76. As a team the Bruins shot 372, 24 shots worse than their opening-round score of 348.
As a whole, the team struggled with the front nine, particularly with the third hole, a 388-yard par four. Three of the six players bogeyed the hole, and Kang had a triple bogey. Lee and Flores also had problems with the 427-yard par four, with both recording sevens.
It was a surprise to see Lee struggle Tuesday, as he fired one of the lowest rounds of the tournament on Monday, carding four birdies and an eagle.
On Tuesday Lee had five birdies and that triple, but still managed to eagle the par-five 13th hole for the second time this week.
The Bruins will need a miraculous day as a team today if they wish to have a chance at winning the Pac-10 title.