Driving for perfection

Wednesday, May 27, 1998

Driving for perfection

MEN’S GOLF: B.J. Schlagenhauf powers team for shot at NCAAs

By Moin Salahuddin

Daily Bruin Contributor

The NCAA men’s golf championships are less than one week away,
and the UCLA squad is fine-tuning its line-up.

However, one player on the team needs no fine-tuning. He has had
an incredible season, leading the Bruins into the NCAA
Championships for a shot at a national title.

Byron Jay Schlagenhauf, also known as B.J., has been the
catalyst for the UCLA men’s golf team. His superb play this season
has been revered by his teammates and his coaches. Earning first
team All-Pacific 10 honors and leading his team to a second
straight NCAA Championships appearance seems commonplace to
onlookers. But this confident and talented golfer hasn’t
accomplished all of his goals yet.

"I want to win the NCAA Championship," Schlagenhauf said. "If
our team plays up to the caliber that we have throughout the year,
we should have a solid chance."

But this talented junior from Walnut Creek has traveled a long
road already and looks for more wins to add to his collection.
However, golf is not the only sport in which he participates
in.

"When I was young, I was playing baseball, swimming and
volleyball," Schlagenhauf said. "But my dad and my stepbrother got
me into golf. They took me out to hit balls, and it just went from
there.

"I just figured that this (golf) is something that I could put a
lot of time into on an individual basis. There’s more of a rich
reward when you put everything on yourself. Team play is awesome,
but there’s a lot of politics in little-league sports. Taking up
golf was really cool because I could put as much time as I wanted
into it."

Schlagenhauf quickly excelled at golf just as he had did in
other sports. He lettered all four years at Northgate High School,
was a first-team all-league selection all four years, and was voted
team MVP and team captain. Schlagenhauf also led his high school to
four consecutive league championships. Once his senior campaign at
Northgate ended, Schlagenhauf was heavily recruited from some of
the top golf programs in the nation. He decided to attend Ohio
State, where he redshirted his freshman year.

"I had a coach that didn’t give me much attention as far as not
showing much interest in me even though he recruited me and brought
me in," Schlagenhauf said. "Then I had to really make a decision my
freshman year if I was going to take myself to the next level,
practice and work hard, so that I could have a good opportunity to
play in my first year of competition. It didn’t end up that I would
stay there just because I wasn’t into their program."

So Schlagenhauf left Ohio State after one year and came to play
for head coach Brad Sherfy and the UCLA Bruins.

"Coming out here was just a great move for me. I got with a
great coach and a good team," Schlagenhauf said. "I got an
opportunity to play right off the bat, which gave me a lot of
experience my freshman year. I got to play every tournament, and
that was huge for me."

Schlagenhauf cites one of his greatest accomplishments as
winning individual medalist honors at the World Students Golf
Championship in Japan. With teams competing from the United States,
Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Australia, Schlagenhauf competed on the
first of two teams from the United States.

"That was definitely one of the highlights of my golfing
career," Schlagenhauf said. "It was pretty competitive with some of
the top players from each country participating."

This season has seen some of the same caliber of golf from
Schlagenhauf. He has led his Bruins to a top-20 national ranking, a
berth into the NCAA Championships and five tournament titles in
only 11 tournaments.

Schlagenhauf has improved all facets of his game markedly over
the past two years, mainly with the help of two people.

"(Coach) Sherfy has played a big role in how my game has
improved over the last two years," Schlagenhauf said. "I really
like his style of teaching and his total attitude toward the game.
I definitely look up to his ability as a player also for someone
who just loves golf. Also, my dad has been an extremely influential
person in my life as far as decision-making. Those two guys play a
huge role in my life right now."

But professional players also have a positive influence on the
junior.

"On the PGA tour, I really like Jim Furyk. Nobody likes Furyk
because of his swing, but he just has class all the way,"
Schlagenhauf said. "He’s pretty amazing to me because he has
obviously defied a lot of teachers and college coaches. He’s just
made a game for himself, which I think is very respectable. I don’t
want to swing like him, but I want to develop a game of my own that
is totally unique for me. Everybody on the tour does a good job of
getting the ball in the hole in as few strokes as possible. But
everybody does it a little bit different with different styles.

"A lot of what college golf is about for me is finding out what
works for myself. College is an excellent opportunity to figure out
what works for you and to create a game of your own."

When Schlagenhauf isn’t on the course working on his game or
watching the pros, he enjoys playing the guitar and listening to
every type of music. He also loves the outdoors and doing sports
such as hiking, camping and fishing.

"That’s what’s great about golf," Schlagenhauf said. "It gives
me the opportunity to be outside all the time."

Confidence is not something which Schlagenhauf lacks, which is
one of the many reasons why he has been so successful at golf.

"I plan to make golf my career as soon as I’m done with school,"
Schlagenhauf said.

So the next time you’re at a golf range and see some guy hitting
the back fence with an iron, just look over and don’t be surprised
if you see Schlagenhauf practicing. Or in 10 years when a golfer
has just captured all four majors in one year, seeing the name
Schlagenhauf might not be too far-fetched either.

DERRICK KUDO/Daily Bruin

B.J. Schlagenhauf is an integral member of the UCLA golf
team.