The UCLA men’s golf team will happily compete in its last regular season event this weekend in the state of California.
The U.S. Intercollegiate, which takes place at Stanford, is the first tournament for the Bruins after a seventh-place finish in horrible weather conditions two weeks ago in Georgia.
UCLA is precariously sitting at a record of 55-53-2 going into this weekend.
UCLA needs to finish with a winning record to qualify for playoffs. If the Bruins don’t play up to their potential this weekend, it could be a long spring quarter back at school.
However, all indications point toward the Bruins gathering momentum heading into the final weekend of the season and the postseason.
Senior Erik Flores is fresh off of his second career tournament victory in the last tournament, the U.S. Collegiate Championship, where he finished a tough tournament at 4-under par.
“My game feels good right now,” Flores said. “I feel prepared, and I’ve had a good week of practice.”
Sophomore Philip Francis, after having a roller-coaster weekend in the U.S. Collegiate, isn’t settling for merely a winning record. Francis was bothered by the weather in Georgia, which included high winds and even snow, and is looking forward to playing on the West Coast in Northern California this weekend.
“We’re going to go out there with a goal of winning,” Francis said. “I think if we all play well, we have a good shot of doing so.”
Francis, who has been implementing some major swing changes, said that this week he was really just focused on getting back to basic golf scoring, which primarily focuses on short game.
Only three of UCLA’s starting five golfers have locked up permanent spots in the lineup: Flores, Francis and freshman Gregor Main.
The other two spots have been occupied recently by different combinations of sophomore Connor Driscoll, freshman Beau Schoolcraft, freshman Alex Kim and freshman Mauricio Azcue.
Azcue and Driscoll competed in the last event, but this weekend will feature Schoolcraft and Kim, with Driscoll competing individually.
This is the last tournament that these players have to prove that they belong on the starting roster heading into the postseason.
More importantly, this tournament has the potential to be a huge springboard into the postseason and give the Bruins a chance to repeat as national champions.
Flores, the lone senior competing, was sentimental that he only has a few tournaments left in his college golf career.
Including the U.S Intercollegiate, the Pac-10 Championships, NCAA Regionals and the NCAA Championships, the UCLA team has at most four tournaments remaining.
“They are very important to me, and I’m more motivated than ever,” Flores said. “I want to finish strong and on a high note.”