Men’s golf places second in Pac-12 championship with best performance in years
Senior Cole Madey was UCLA men’s golf’s top-finisher at the Pac-12 championships this week. Madey shot a 5-under 279 and finished third place. (Courtesy of Samuel Marshall/Eric Evans Photography)
By Michelle Murakami
April 25, 2019 12:03 a.m.
For the first time since 2013, the Bruins boasted three top-10 finishers at the Pac-12 championship.
UCLA men’s golf played in Eugene, Oregon, at the Eugene Country Club for the 2019 Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championship. The Bruins finished in second place with an even par score of 1420. Stanford placed first, seven strokes ahead with a 7-under 1413 while California finished just one stroke behind UCLA with a 1-over 1421.
Senior Cole Madey finished third with a 5-under 279, while sophomore Devon Bling placed sixth with a 2-under 282. Sophomore Eddy Lai followed with a tie for seventh at 1-under 283.
Madey had the best finish for UCLA during a Pac-12 championship since 2016. The Oregon native had often played at Eugene Country Club growing up, and he talked about his course knowledge heading into the tournament.
“I played a lot here growing up and it felt more comfortable because I knew the area pretty well,” Madey said. “It was really windy all day today unlike the past two and it made the course play extremely difficult. The rough is really long here so your ball can go off-line easier in the air, and because of the wind we had to take different clubs.”
Bling talked about his areas of focus and placing under the top-10 after finishing in 55th at the Masters less than two weeks ago.
“Personally, for me, I’m working on my driver but I’ve been playing a lot of golf the past few weeks and I’m (starting to) feel a little tired,” Bling said. “I think as a team we’re trending in the right direction and we’re going to be putting in work before regionals.”
Madey said he has taken on a new leadership role in his final year with the team, something he thinks is important heading into the NCAA Regionals.
“I could consider myself a veteran on the team and I definitely assume that role,” Madey said. “I think a few guys really look up to me and I’ve taken (junior Hidetoshi) Yoshihara under my wing the last few weeks and I think we’re headed in a good direction. I think a big part of it is off the course; hanging out outside of tournaments and growing closer is an important aspect.”
UCLA have had two tournament wins and four total top-three finishers since the start of April.
The Bruins will play next at the NCAA regionals from May 13-15. They will be assigned their region May 1.
