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.

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