The UCLA men’s golf team went into the TaylorMade Big
Island Classic ranked No. 12 in the country and the second-highest
seed in the 26-team tournament.
They left tournament champions, as the Bruins captured first
place in Hawai’i with a total score of 836, 20-under par.
“This was a huge confidence builder,” coach O.D.
Vincent said. “We had a lot of putts go in on the last few
holes of the final round.”
Texas Christian University, ranked No. 3 in the nation, finished
second with an 838, two shots back of UCLA on the windy Waikoloa
Resort courses.
The victory was far from a walk in the park for the Bruins, who
had to overcome some daunting obstacles to capture their first
title of 2003.
Talented freshman Spencer Levin shot a one-under 71 in the first
round, but was disqualified in the second round for an incorrect
drop procedure. Under regular NCAA tournament conditions, a team
sends out five individuals and takes the four best scores. With
Levin gone, each Bruin in the second round carried the extra
pressure of not having the luxury to falter.
“The team knew about Levin’s
disqualification,” Vincent said. “They just knew every
shot from then on would count.”
The Bruins were also caught looking uphill at TCU after the
first round, trailing the Horned Frogs by seven shots.
“Yes, we trailed them by seven,” Vincent said,
“but because we played a par-72 course and they a par-70
course, we were actually leading them after the first round by one
shot.”
Any troubles the Bruins found themselves mired in were quickly
eased by a dynamic performance by UCLA junior Roy Moon, who
provided fireworks in round two on the par-70 Beach course at
Waikoloa.
Moon, after a first round 77, lit up the Beach Course for a
tournament-low, Bruin-low, season-low and career-low 62,
eight-under par. Moon now has his signature on UCLA’s two
lowest rounds this year, the other a seven-under par 65 in the
Wildcat Invitational held last week.
“Roy didn’t let the 77 bother him,” Vincent
said. “He did a good job maintaining his focus on the course.
If he didn’t miss two short putts on the first two holes, he
could have shot 60.”
In fact all the UCLA juniors carried the team on their backs.
Juniors Steve Conway, John Merrick, and Moon all placed in the top
12 individually.
Conway, the most consistent Bruin in Hawaii, finished in a tie
for second at seven-under par, posting three rounds of 69.
“It was his best college finish,” Vincent said. He
hit the ball well and hung in there well.
The Bruins have two weeks before their next tournament, the
Southwestern Intercollegiate, at North Ranch Country Club in nearby
Westlake Village.