Coming in fourth at the Gifford Collegiate Championship at CordeValle feels a bit like déjà vu for the men’s golf team as this is its second fourth-place finish in as many events.
Last month at The Prestige tournament in Palm Springs, the Bruins came out strong and took a first-round lead, only to slip into a tie for fourth. This time, they did it in reverse.
The Bruins finished their final fall tournament with a team total of 1067 (-13) this week, 11 strokes behind winner No. 2 Stanford.
First-ranked Oklahoma State and Augusta State took 2nd and 3rd with 1059 (-21) and 1061 (-19), respectively.
After day one at CordeValle, UCLA found itself in a tie for sixth place, and freshman Pedro Figueiredo looked like the only bright spot as he was tied for the individual lead after shooting 67 (-5).
The second round picked up for the Bruins as they moved into a tie for fourth place. Sophomore Gregor Main fired 67 (-5) and moved into a tie for seventh, individually.
The consistent play of Figueiredo did not hold up, however, as he posted a 74 (+2).
“The most difficult part of golf is to back up a good round with another good round, and that’s part of the learning process,” coach Derek Freeman said.
In Wednesday’s final round, the Bruins had an early push to take the lead before eventually falling back into their familiar fourth-place abode.
“All we ask for is an opportunity to win,” Freeman said. “With four holes to play we were two shots back of the lead, and we had a chance, and we just didn’t pull off the shots and take advantage of situations that we should have.”
The Bruins’ top finisher, freshman Pontus Widegren matched Figueiredo’s first-round feat by shooting 67 on Wednesday and claiming a share of a third-place individual finish with a score of 208 (-8) on the tournament.
Figueiredo, who was ranked as the No. 3 player in the nation by Golfweek magazine last week, tied for 8th by shooting 211 (-5).
Oklahoma State’s Peter Uihlein fit the billing of his No. 1 individual ranking by winning the individual competition with a 202 (-14).
UCLA saw consistent play from sophomore Alex Shi Yup Kim, who finished tied for 23rd in the event after posting 215 (-1), one stroke ahead of Main, who finished tied for 28th.
Freshmen Bobby Lange and Mario Clemens couldn’t find a rhythm this week as Clemens came in with a 223 (+7) and Lange with a 226 (+10), finishing tied for 54th and 72nd, respectively. Following the six-count-five format, Lange’s score was dropped and not counted toward the team total.
Sophomore Beau Schoolcraft competed independent of the team at this event and posted a 228 (+12), finishing tied for 78th.
“When you’re playing this format, everyone needs to play well,” Freeman said. “When you have a couple guys that don’t, the team’s not going to play well. We’re having to take high scores and that hurts.”
The Bruins have some down time before their next event at the UH-Hilo Intercollegiate in Hawaii in early February.
Freeman insisted that the lineup he played in this tournament isn’t permanent and that the team will use its short off-season effectively.
“We’ve got a long break, and all of our guys are going to be working hard. We’ve got some things to do,” he said.