Pac-12 challenges prepare men’s golf for upcoming NCAAs

It wasn’t some cartoonish desert mirage, making them seem closer than they were. What the leaderboard reflected was accurate.

By the end of the 36-hole day one, the Bruins found themselves 24 strokes behind eventual winners Stanford. The leaderboard read Stanford (-2) and UCLA (+22) as darkness descended on the desert, suspending play.

Nothing got much brighter for the UCLA men’s golf team as they finished seventh at the Pac-12 men’s golf championship held at The Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Ariz. last weekend.

On day two, the unexpected happened: rain and gusts of wind, dampening any hope of salvaging the weekend.

“We were unprepared for some of the conditions that came along during the tournament, especially on day two, which should never be the case,” said sophomore Jonathan Garrick. “It started raining and got really windy. It was some of the toughest and worst conditions we’ve played in all year.”

And indeed it was the worst, especially for an Arizona climate that attracts golf designers and golfers alike for its ideal golfing weather.

“You really have almost an indoor type golf because usually there is very little wind if at all,” said coach Derek Freeman. “It’s perfect conditions to play target golf and hit it where you want to – nothing affects you. And it was completely different this weekend.”

While preparation and unexpected weather contributed to the way the Bruins experienced the course, it only partly accounts for their seventh place finish. The golfers also had to overcome the course’s optical deceptions.

“The main thing was to hit fairways, but it got hard because when you looked out from the tee box the fairways would be covered with desert sand so it gave the illusion that it was much more narrow than it really was,” said sophomore Lorens Chan.

With all the difficulty of playing in an unfamiliar environment, add on to that an inclement climate that radically switched over the weekend from the expected low 90s to 71 degrees and overcast, with rain and gusts of wind too violent for even flying a kite.

While the Bruins may have been disappointed with the result, the course offered a preview to the type of conditions possible at the NCAA championships, which will be held in Hutchinson, Kan., only a few weeks away.

“This is definitely a great preparation for nationals,” said senior Anton Arboleda. “There will for sure be wind and tough conditions. It’s the Midwest. We’ve been there once already this year, so being familiar with the climate will definitely be a good thing because, living in Southern California, we just don’t see that weather too often.”

This time, in addition to sunscreen and hats, items all too familiar to Southern Californians, the Bruins must bring along umbrellas and weatherproof jackets, anything that will allow them to overcome unexpectedly harsh and un-Californian conditions.

“We should have been smarter and had all the extra equipment and rain gear necessary for the conditions,” Garrick said. “It’s always better to have the gear and not use it than to not have it at all. You have to prepare for all possibilities and expect the worst.”

All-Pac-12 Second Team

On Monday, the conference named Chan and Garrick 2014 All-Pac-12 Second Team.

“I’m really humbled to get this honor. The Pac-12 is for sure one of the most competitive conferences out there and in golf as well,” Chan said. “It feels good overall, big improvement from last year. I guess hard work paid off.”

For Chan, the award marks the first of his Pac-12 career. Chan finished seventh at the Pac-12 championship this last weekend, the biggest event thus far of the season.

Garrick now has this achievement to go along with being named on last year’s 2013 All-Freshman Team.

“It feels good. My goal was First Team. I didn’t quite reach that goal, but it still shows a lot of the hard work that went into the season and it feels great to be voted Second Team by the coaches in the conference,” Garrick said. “I can always do better, but I’m very proud of what I accomplished.”