While the rest of the UCLA student body was enjoying their time off over spring break, the men’s golf team was hard at work.
Sophomore Gregor Main competed as an amateur in his second PGA Tour event at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Invitational in Orlando, Fla. Main fired a 70 (-2) in the second round of the tournament, only to miss the cut by one stroke.
“I didn’t finish off that second round as I liked, but it was still a really good experience for me to be out there playing with professionals,” Main said of his experience at Bay Hill.
Main also got to meet Palmer, a legend in the golfing world, at the tournament.
“I met him the morning before my second round and I wasn’t putting well, but I putted really well that second round after speaking to him,” Main said.
Meanwhile, five Bruins competed at the Collegiate Match Play Championship at Dove Mountain Golf Club in Mariana, Ariz.
The Bruins were able to beat Texas Tech in the fourth round to take 11th place overall. Freshman Pedro Figueiredo said that it was a challenge to try to adjust to the unique format of match play.
“All of my matches were really close,” Figueiredo said. “In match play, it’s a different game. It really doesn’t matter what your score is, it matters if you beat your opponent.”
This weekend, the Bruins turn their attention to the Thunderbird Invitational at Arizona State’s Karsten Golf Course in Tempe. The tournament is a preview of sorts for the Pac-10 championships that will be played at the same course later this month. This weekend’s tournament also features all 10 Pac-10 schools to further the comparison.
“We’re the best conference in the country,” assistant coach Ryan Ressa said. “There’s no doubt about that. This is the first time that we all tee it up together on the same course. It’s pretty exciting. Our guys are really fired up for it. It will be a good chance to get a look at the golf course that we’re going to play for the Pac-10 Championship.”
The Bruins lineup will feature their usual top four players: Main, Figueiredo, Alex Shi Yup Kim and Pontus Widegren. The fifth spot, which has been in constant question, has been granted to freshman Mario Clemens this weekend for his strong performance at the Collegiate Match Play Championship, finishing 3-1-0.
“He had a really good week last week,” said Ressa of Clemens. “He pretty much dominated his matches so he’s earned a spot as the fifth man this weekend.”
The Thunderbird Invitational features a two-day format in which teams will play 36 holes today and 18 holes tomorrow, something the Bruins struggled with at the USC Invitational.
“It’s challenging for me and for a lot of us, but I think we learned from (the USC Invitational) how to keep ourselves energized and focused,” Main said. “I think we’ll be better-prepared for this one than the last one.”
Moving on up
After their victory at the Southern Highlands Collegiate at UNLV, the Bruins have moved up to No. 6 in the golfstat.com poll and No. 7 in the golfweek.com poll. Additionally, Alex Shi Yup Kim has moved up to No. 42 and Pontus Widegren to No. 47 individually.