The No. 3 UCLA men’s golf team traveled up to head coach
O.D. Vincent’s old stomping grounds in search of their third
consecutive tournament victory to start the season.
The Bruins came away largely disappointed.
A pesky Washington team lapped the field en route to a
first-place finish at the Husky Invitational held on the Gold
Mountain Olympic Course in Bremerton, Wash.
UCLA walked away in third place with a cumulative total of
31-over par for the three-round tournament, finishing 24 shots
behind the Huskies and three shots behind second-place San Diego
State University.
“We did not play well and we’re very disappointed
with our performance,” Vincent said.
Washington’s Brock Mackenzie took home the individual
crown with a stellar 8-under par performance, seven shots better
than his closest competitor. The win was the fourth of
Mackenzie’s career, and with it he surpassed none other than
O.D. Vincent as the all-time event winner in Washington
history.
“O.D. is someone I really respect, so it’s exciting
to go ahead of him, but it’s not something I have spent a lot
of time thinking about,” Mackenzie said in a press
release.
“Brock is going to do a lot more than just win this
tournament,” Vincent said.
The two Bruins who have tournament victories under their belts
this year, senior John Merrick and junior John Poucher, continued
their good play, each earning a top-10 finish.
Merrick finished tied for fifth place with 2-over par, while
Poucher completed his tournament in a tie for eighth place at
4-over par.
“Poucher is a transformed player,” said Vincent of
Poucher, whose play has dramatically escalated since this past
spring. “It’s nice to see him playing with real
confidence.”
Senior Steve Conway was the lone Bruin to post a sub-70 round,
shooting a 4-under 68 in the final round to finish tied for 13th
place at 5-over par.
Senior Travis Johnson, who entered the third round at even-par
and tied for fifth place, tumbled down the leaderboard with an 80
in the final round, leaving him at 8-over par and in a tie for 23rd
place for the tournament.
Highly touted freshman Chris Heintz and sophomore Breene Murphy
finished 56th and 59th, respectively.
Senior and regular starter Roy Moon did not compete.
“Roy didn’t play in the tournament because he was
the odd man out,” Vincent said. “The way the fall and
qualifying sets up, we’re trying to give different players
the chance to play.”