W. golf finish fourth in NCAA Championship

Tuesday, May 28, 1996

Final hole on final day proves problematic, Choi third
individuallyBy Christopher Isidro

Daily Bruin Senior Staff

LA QUINTA, Calif. — There may be 18 holes on a golf course, but
it only takes one to make or break the day.

The UCLA women’s golf team, could only pick up the pieces after
playing the 18th hole in Saturday’s final round of the NCAA
Championships at the La Quinta Club and Resort.

The UCLA women’s golf team finished in fourth place, three shots
behind San Jose State and Arizona, who won in a playoff on the 18th
hole. For UCLA’s Kathy Choi, the home hole did not extend the
warmest of welcomes.

The Bruin senior burned up the first five holes, held steady
through the front nine and stayed out of trouble through 17. It
would not be until the 18th hole that the Dunes Course at caught up
with Choi.

After an errant drive that found the left rough, Choi
encountered a sidehill lie that played to slice, right into the
water guarding the other half of the fairway. On the final hole of
her collegiate career, Choi gambled for the green and found blue
instead.

"I wasn’t really flustered after I got to the second shot," Choi
said. "I was playing for the left side, but … I don’t know what
happened."

The ordeal wasn’t quite over as the Bruin senior was lying three
from 30 yards out on the par-four. Her pitch to the hole went 30
yards … in the air and rolled up a hill behind the green. After
hitting three poor shots in a row, Choi faced a difficult chip just
to put herself in position to save double bogey.

"I was trying to save bogey, it didn’t work," Choi said. "It was
a terrible shot."

Standing over her fifth shot, Choi managed to piece her game
back together with a chip shot that caught a little bit of rough, a
little more fringe and a lot of green before resting within two
feet of the pin.

"I was trying to chip it in to save bogey," she said. "I was
fighting all the way to the end."

Her double bogey on 18 put her at two-over-par 74 and in third
place individually but left the Bruins three shots out of a share
for the lead.

"The 18th was kind of a disaster," UCLA head coach Jackie
Steinmann said. "It’s hard to keep your focus coming in on the
final day of the final hole."

The 18th nearly had the same dire consequences for Arizona, who
came into the final hole tied for the lead. Wildcat freshman
Heather Graff put her team in a position to win when she nailed an
approach three feet from the cup. But her birdie putt started right
and stayed right of the hole, putting Arizona in the playoff
against a deeper Spartan squad.

San Jose State jumped out to an early one-stroke lead, forcing
one of the three Wildcats left on the course to record a birdie and
send the playoff to another hole.

Freshman Marisa Baena responded to the challenge. The Columbian
native, who already locked up the NCAA individual title by seven
strokes, took an eight-iron out of the bag from 147 yards to the
pin after much deliberation. Her second shot took a bounce 10 feet
from the pin and turned slightly left. The gallery exploded when
the eagle landed in the bottom of the cup.

"It was the best pressurized shot I ever saw," Arizona head
coach Rick LaRose said. "It’s like Jack Nicklaus sinking it from
the middle of the fairway to win the Ryder Cup."

"It was the best shot of my life," said Baena, who was prepared
to sign with UCLA before she was informed that there were no more
scholarships available.

San Jose State junior Janice Moodie drained a 12-foot birdie
putt to even the playoff, leaving the Spartan fate in Vibeke
Stensrud’s five-foot par attempt. The senior pushed the putt right,
giving the Wildcats its first NCAA title.

The Bruins capitalized on favorable conditions as the winds died
down clouds provided relief from the desert sun. Four Bruins broke
80 on the final day to post UCLA best round of the tournament, a
304 on its way to 1,243 over 72 holes.

Choi canned birdies on the first and fifth holes and had other
scoring chances. She had a golden opportunity on the 14th hole when
she stuck her approach to within three feet. But Choi could not
cash in on her brilliant effort as her birdie attempt slid past the
hole.

UCLA had other missed opportunities on Saturday, especially on
the treacherous 13th hole. Jeong Min Park and Eunice Choi both
landed within eight feet of the cup for reasonable birdie chances.
Park’s putt rimmed out while Choi missed her’s right.

But unlike the other three days at the NCAA Championships, UCLA
put itself in position to score.

"We did absolutely great," Steinmann said. "We were only two
over at the turn. We had a few bogies and we had some birdies as
well and we didn’t run into trouble until we got to 18."

FRED HE/Daily Bruin

Kathy Choi produced the two low rounds for UCLA at the NCAA
Championships this weekend.