The No. 4 UCLA men’s golf team arrived in West Lafeyette, Ind. Sunday for the NCAA Championships as all the pundits named the three teams ahead of them in the rankings ““ USC, Georgia and Alabama ““ as the favorites to win the title.
After round one Wednesday, it’s safe to say that the Bruins aren’t flying under the radar anymore.
UCLA finished at 9-over-par after the first 18 holes and enters round two today at the Kampen Course in a first place tie with rival USC. The Bruin team managed the course very well despite high winds that made play extremely difficult for the 30 teams at the tournament. The Bruins will get off to an early start today and tee off round two at 7:45 a.m.
“I couldn’t be any happier. This is all we could really ask for,” coach Derek Freeman said. “Now it’s just a matter of how well we take care of our own business. We can’t worry about USC. We have to take care of ourselves.”
There was at least one obvious explanation for the Bruins’ surprising success in round one: Senior Kevin Chappell was the best player in the entire field.
Chappell, the Pac-10’s player of the year, fired a 3-under-par 69 to finish the day in sole possession of first place. Chappell, who is known for his mental toughness and resilient play, was able to handle the daunting conditions well. He played perhaps the most consistent round of the day, finishing with just two bogies and five birdies. He was one of just three players in the 150-man field to finish under par, along with Kent State’s David Markle and USC’s Tim Sluiter, who are both at 2-under-par.
“When you have your senior leader shoot three under, it’s unbelievable,” Freeman said. “It just makes such a huge difference.”
The brilliant play from Chappell carried the Bruins; he was the only player on the team under par. UCLA’s Erik Flores, Philip Francis and Craig Leslie all finished at 4-over-par. Lucas Lee finished at 7-over-par; the lowest score on the team is not counted.
Still, after Wednesday’s stellar round, the Bruins are suddenly a favorite.
The four-round format of the tournament should help the Bruins, as it rewards the most consistent and deep teams.
And, with Chappell contending for the individual title, the other Bruins could gain a boost in momentum just from seeing their teammate’s name atop the leaderboards. A win would signal a huge breakthrough for the program, which hasn’t won a title in 20 years even though it has had several legitimate chances to contend for the crown.
“If you win each little day as a tournament round, at the end you’re the winner,” Freeman said. “Our goal is to shoot the lowest score each and every day.”