On the surface, when looking at UCLA’s men’s golf getting to spend the weekend in the entertainment capital of the world, it is easy to see the appeal of being part of the team.
But rather than taking in the city lights and hitting the strip, the No. 22 Bruins have another mission – seeking their first tournament victory of the winter season in arguably the toughest test they will face all year at the UNLV-hosted Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters in Las Vegas.
Any Masters event generates attention and fierce competition in the golfing world, and the hottest collegiate prospects will turn out in force, just as their professional counterparts will next month at the Augusta National in Georgia.
The tournament, which runs Friday through Sunday, consists of a 15-team field including the top-five ranked teams in the NCAA, and 10 of the top 25.
“It is the best and toughest tournament of the season besides nationals,” said sophomore Lorens Chan. “The team has played here for many years … so the coaches know the course very well and that helps. We know that if we all play our best then victory is achievable.”
Coach Derek Freeman has also charged sophomore Jonathan Garrick, juniors Matt Pinizzotto and Jay Hwang and senior Anton Arboleda with improving upon UCLA’s fourth place finish at the Southern Highlands Golf Club in 2013.
Despite the strong opposition, UCLA’s golfers will take heart in their superb final round at The Prestige a fortnight ago and their hard fought tie against USC on Monday.
“Our exhibition against USC came down to the wire but we played pretty solid,” Arboleda said. “That and our excellent final round at The Prestige in our last competition gives us confidence that we can compete with any team there.”
Chan and Garrick are currently the highest ranked UCLA individuals, No. 24 and No. 25, respectively, and this effort has earned their inclusion on this weeks watch list for the 2014 Palmer Cup.
“It’s a good start,” Garrick said. “It was one of my goals at the start of the season so it is nice to be in with a shot halfway through. There is still a long way to go so I have to keep pushing forward.”
No. 2 California, No. 8 Stanford and Arizona are the other Pac-12 teams taking part.