When coach Carrie Forsyth looked into her players’ eyes
five months ago at the NCAA Championships, she saw it.
Since then, she hasn’t.
The drive, the focus, the determination, all staples of what the
UCLA women’s golf team used to get to the top of the
collegiate golfing world, so far have been AWOL in the fall
exhibition season.
Then again, it is an exhibition season.
“We set a goal last year to win the national championship,
and we didn’t take ownership of it until a lot later,”
Forsyth said. “That’s a lot like this year.”
“Your desire is sort of defused when you have such a long
way to go.”
Until they’re back out there competing in meaningful
tournaments, the No. 3 Bruins will continue to plug away at events
every other week, perfecting their games for the stretch run next
spring.
UCLA wrapped up play this weekend at the Stanford/Pepsi
Intercollegiate in Palo Alto in fourth place, finishing the
tournament 15 shots behind champion Arizona State.
But it’s not the Bruins’ finish or scores that has
Forsyth disappointed. It’s the attitude and lack of killer
instinct that makes her draw a comparison to last year’s
championship squad.
“It appears that a little bit of focus is just not
there,” Forsyth said. “That drive, that
“˜let’s go and just kill them attitude,’
that’s not there right now.”
Despite what Forsyth calls a lack of focus, senior Charlotte
Mayorkas and freshman Amie Cochran both posted top-10 finishes,
each finishing at 4-over par and in a tie for 10th place.
They were followed on the leaderboard by junior Susie Mathews,
who finished at 5-over par and in a tie for 13th place.
Even though it appeared to be a successful tournament for the
trio, Forsyth believes otherwise.
“I know that Charlotte, Amie, and Susie were disappointed
with their finish,” Forsyth said. “Everybody left shots
out there. No one’s jumping for joy here.”
And that includes sophomore Hannah Jun. An integral part to the
Bruins’ success at pivotal points last season, she has
struggled to regain her form. Jun posted two 78s on her way to
finishing the tournament at 17-over par. Her high score can be
attributed to an attempted swing change, something that Forsyth
would rather Jun do now than later on in the season.
“It’s not feeling comfortable to her,” Forsyth
said. “And I think it’s spread to the short game.
“It wasn’t fun for her this tournament.”