M. golf: Bruins eye field for Prestige victory

The No. 1 UCLA men’s golf team is looking to end its fall
season the same way it started it: with a win.

The Bruins will travel to La Quinta, Calif. to participate in
The Prestige, an annual tournament hosted by UC Davis on the
Mountain Course at the La Quinta Resort.

In their last two tournaments, the Bruins have finished second
and third respectively, leaving head coach O.D. Vincent waiting for
his team to validate its No. 1 ranking with a tournament
victory.

“We want to finish the fall on a positive note,”
Vincent said. “Even though it’s only been two
tournaments since we’ve won, it has felt like a lot
longer.”

Travelling to La Quinta will be seniors Steve Conway, Roy Moon,
John Merrick, junior John Poucher and freshman Chris Heintz.

“I’m looking out for Steve and Roy this
tournament,” Vincent said. “Steve is coming off a win
and Roy had as good a two weeks of practice as I’ve seen him
have.”

Senior Travis Johnson, a mainstay in the Bruins’ starting
lineup, will not compete in The Prestige due to personal reasons.
Johnson, who is not currently in Los Angeles, will rejoin the team
later in the week when they compete in the Hooters Collegiate Match
Play Championship.

“Travis has some other priorities for him at this time,
and we can’t say no to him,” Vincent said.

According to Vincent, the players who are competing need to take
advantage of a mountain course that places more of a premium on
accuracy than on length off the tee.

“La Quinta is not overly long, but you need to hit the
ball accurately if you’re going to score,” Vincent
said. “We had the best average on par-5s in 2002-2003, and
we’ve got to take advantage of the par-5s in order to be
successful.”

After competing in The Prestige, UCLA will fly cross-country to
Myrtle Beach, S.C. to compete in the second annual Hooters
Collegiate Match Play Championship, held at the Barefoot
Resort.

The 16-team field will compete in a double-elimination match
play format that emphasizes more of the “team” aspect
in collegiate golf.

UCLA, seeded No. 2 in the tournament, will play North Carolina
State in its initial match.

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Freshman Chris Heintz qualified for the 2004 Buick Invitational,
one of the elite tournaments in the PGA, to be held at Torrey Pines
in La Jolla.

Heintz earned one of two qualifying bids and will be teeing it
up with the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

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