UCLA golf comes in second in tournament despite strong final round
By Richard Kaumeyer
Oct. 9, 2013 12:00 a.m.
From Oct. 6-8, the rust showed in UCLA men’s golf team during the Erin Hills Invitational, its first tournament of the year.
A 6-over par score in the second round of the tournament left the Bruins in a deficit from which they could not recover from despite a strong performance on the final day of the tournament.
On the first day of the tournament, the Bruins shot a combined 2-under which left them in striking distance of Stanford. On the second day however, UCLA gave it all back and more. A combined score of 6-over left them 15 shots off Stanford’s lead.
Coach Derek Freeman said that his team’s lack of competition up until this point was the reason for the Bruin’s slow start at the tournament.
“(In) the first two rounds, we didn’t play very well at all,” Freeman said. “It showed we haven’t played in competition in a while.”
Despite this, the Bruins were able to turn it around in the third round, combining to shoot 9-under. Redshirt junior Manav Shah said he felt the Bruins finally got it together on the back nine of the third round.
“We all got into a really good rhythm on the back nine,” Shah said. “I think we honestly just got tired of playing bad.”
The Bruins were led in scoring in their big third round by sophomore Jonathan Garrick’s 7-under.
“The first two days I felt very rusty – it was very average to poor play,” Garrick said. “Today though, I felt ready to go. Out of ten, I played a nine and a half. Hopefully I can continue that play going into our next tournament.”
Although the Bruins played well on the third day, the team still finished in second place, well behind Stanford. UCLA could not overcome the 15-shot lead the Cardinals had built up during the first two days of the tournament.
Despite the loss, Freeman said he was pleased with the way his team played the last 18 holes and is excited for the Bruins’ next tournament at Georgia Tech.
“I was happy to see our guys bounce back and really finish off well today,” Freeman said. “We are going to be excited about working hard and getting ready for Georgia Tech.”
