Top-ranked UCLA women’s golf aims to build on win

All of the fears of a winless season were put to rest two weekends ago for the UCLA women’s golf team.

With that in mind they will head to Arizona today to compete in the PING/ASU Invitational with little to worry about and a lot to gain.

The win two weekends ago in Texas at the Betsy Rawls Invitational was the first in what was otherwise shaping up to be a season of close calls and second place finishes. Now that they do not have to worry about going winless, the Bruins can focus solely on their game and not worry about mounting expectations.

All-American senior Sydnee Michaels said she knew that the win for the Bruins was something they were always capable of and that she thinks the momentum will carry over to this weekend.

“We came so close so many times and it was really good for all of us to come through as a team … more than anything it was a confidence booster.”

Michaels’ leadership will be needed at the Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz. as it is one that the team is very familiar with.

As the lone senior on the squad, Michaels has had the opportunity to play this course numerous times in NCAA competition.

She has also played the course competitively as a junior golfer. She believes that the team’s familiarity with the course will help translate to lower scores over the weekend.

“We’ve all played this golf course multiple times, we have a comfort level here and that is always going to help in the end.”

Competing for the Bruins this weekend will be sophomore Brianna Do who has been playing some of her best golf of the season.

She is entering this tournament after a strong showing last time out where she placed third as an individual posting a score of 4 over par.

Sophomore Stephanie Kono rebounded nicely in Texas after a nagging injury sidelined her earlier in the season. She now seems to be back in top form and will be an important part of the Bruin rotation this weekend.

Considering her skill level, junior Glory Yang’s last performance in Texas was uncharacteristic to say the least. After a tie for 47th, the Bruins will look to her for her leadership and hope she returns to form this weekend.

The only member of the team competing this weekend who has not played the Tempe-area course is freshman Tiffany Lua. Lua’s skill will be put to the test as she must now learn the ins and outs of the course layout on the fly.

The Karsten Golf Course is one that places a premium on the short game. The greens will be tricky and good putting will be essential. Michaels believes that the Bruins will need to conquer the flatstick if they hope to win this weekend.

“Putting is going to be the most important part and you have to make putts here in order to win,” he said.

But Michaels also placed an importance on something that is not physical and instead described the importance of the teams’ mentality and how it will help them down the stretch.

“This weekend is going to be a test. We are going into the postseason and we have to mentally stay inside our own game. If we do that, it will prove our skill,” she said.

Nine of the 17 teams in the tournament, including No. 2 Arizona State, No. 6 USC, and No. 7 Arizona, are among the top 20 in the nation.

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