UCLA men’s golf tees off season at Erin Hills Invitational
Redshirt junior Manav Shah and the UCLA men’s golf team open their season this weekend at the Erin Hills Invitational.
By Richard Kaumeyer
Oct. 4, 2013 12:03 a.m.
UCLA men’s golf’s long summer is finally coming to an end. After having the entire offseason to reflect on their 26th place finish at the NCAA tournament, the Bruins’ season will be underway this Sunday at the Erin Hills Invitational.
The Erin Hills Invitational will be held in Milwaukee, Wis., and will run Sunday through Tuesday. Although it is the Bruins’ first tournament of the year, they will not be able to ease into their season. The tournament’s field will feature No. 22 Stanford as well as other ranked opponents.
The course will be no slouch either. The tournament will be played at the Erin Hills Golf Course, which hosted a U.S. Amateur Championship in 2011 and will be the host of the 2017 U.S. Open.
The competition level may be high, but the Bruins feel that they are prepared for anything because of their great depth.
“I think our preparation has been great,” said redshirt junior Manav Shah. “We have (10) guys who are very competitive. Playing against each other every day has been great preparation for us going in to play other top-ranked programs.”
Ten players returned from last year’s team and have two victories and a total of 238 rounds of collegiate golf between them. Coach Derek Freeman said he believes this experience will allow the Bruins to prosper at harder golf courses because there is a better chance that a UCLA player has played it before.
“We play tough challenging golf courses like Erin Hills,” Freeman said. “All of our guys have had experience (playing at tough golf courses) and we will be able to lean on that experience while playing these golf courses.”
Among the returners are senior Anton Arboleda and sophomore Jonathan Garrick, who were both featured in GolfWorld’s Top 50 Male Players to Watch in 2013-2014. Despite being honored by the distinction, Arboleda tries not to think about it.
“I think they are a distraction,” said Arboleda. “I try to focus on what I can control, and that is playing good golf.”
The players starting for the team at the Erin Hills Invitational will be Garrick, Shah, Arboleda, sophomore Lorens Chan and junior Jay Hwang. Sophomore Aaron Kunitomo will be playing in the individual. There will be a practice round Saturday and one 18-hole round Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
