The UCLA men’s golf team ended a disappointing season with a disappointing final tournament.
The Bruins finished in a tie for 24th place in the 30-team field at the NCAA Championships in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday. There weren’t many positives to take away from the three days of play; not only did the team finish poorly, but no individual golfer finished in the top 50.
The Bruins finished with a score of 900 (+48), a whopping 51 strokes behind first-place Oklahoma State. They were led by Gregor Main, who finished tied for 55th after shooting 71 (E) on Thursday to finish at 221 (+8) for the tournament.
Erik Flores recovered from a round of 80 on the first day to shoot even par the next two days with scores of 69 and 73 to finish at 222 (+9).
Sophomore Philip Francis started the tournament on fire, ending Tuesday one stroke behind the leaders after firing a round of 70 (-1) but trailed off on Wednesday and Thursday with rounds of 77 to finish at 224 (+10).
After the Bruins’ top three, it was a long way to their next best finisher, freshman Alex Kim, who finished at 235 (+22), followed by sophomore Connor Driscoll at 237 (+24).
The only silver lining for the Bruins is that they will lose only Flores to graduation while returning the other four golfers who competed in the NCAAs next season.
The team did show promise this season, highlighted by an NCAA Regionals victory leading into the NCAA Championships, but ultimately the Bruins lacked the experience to defend their title.
The top eight teams from the stroke play portion will now face off in a match-play, elimination bracket to determine the national champion. Those teams, in order of finish, are Oklahoma State, Arizona State, USC, Arkansas, Washington, Michigan, Texas A&M and Georgia.
Matt Hill of North Carolina State won the individual national championship after shooting 69 (-2) all three rounds to finish at 207 (-6).
Compiled by David Updegrove, Bruin Sports contributor.