No. 1 UCLA hosts Gifford Collegiate Championship

With two tournaments and two second-place finishes in the books, the UCLA men’s golf team has gotten off to a consistent start this season.

And with just one tournament to go before they wrap up their fall season, the Bruins will look to build on that consistency and pick up their first win at the Gifford Collegiate Championship this week.

Hosted by No. 1 UCLA, the sixth annual Gifford Collegiate Championship begins today at the CordeValle Golf Resort in San Martin.

Although all nine players on the UCLA men’s golf team are traveling to San Martin this week, only six will be competing as Bruins. Senior Connor Driscoll, junior Gregor Main, freshman Patrick Cantlay and sophomores Pontus Widegren, Mario Clemens and Pedro Figueiredo will make up the Bruin team in San Martin.

Widegren, the No. 5 golfer in the nation, was the Bruins’ top finisher at the Gifford Collegiate Championship last year and is coming off of an individual 17th-place finish at the U.S. Collegiate Championship in October.

The Gifford Collegiate Championship is played using the six-count-five format in which a team has six players compete and counts the five best scores each day. This format favors teams with more depth, as most tournaments are played in a five-count-four format.

Competing as individuals are freshman Anton Arboleda, sophomore Bobby Lange and junior Alex Shi Yup Kim. Because they are competing as individuals, these golfers’ scores will not be eligible to contribute to the Bruins’ team total.

Driscoll, the lone senior on the team, will be making his first start this season representing UCLA.

Last year, Stanford won the tournament while the Bruins settled for fourth place. This year, No. 16 Stanford is once again featured in the field of teams, along withNo. 6 Augusta State, No. 24 Washington and No. 25 San Diego.

Compiled by Manny Redruello, Bruin Sports contributor.