M. golf: Regional to test young team’s ability to deliver

The expectations for the UCLA men’s golf team will be
almost the same as they have been the past two years when the
Bruins tee off at the NCAA West Regionals today, even if the team
itself is completely different.

The four All-Americans who helped the team win two consecutive
regional titles have graduated, leaving a new set of faces to bear
the burden of taking their place when the No. 14 Bruins begin play
at the Stanford Golf Course. The tournament’s top 10
finishers will earn a berth to next month’s NCAA
Championships in Owings Mill, Md.

Of the five players in UCLA’s lineup, only one, senior
captain John Poucher, has ever played in an NCAA Regional before.
The other four players, sophomores Joakim Renstrom and Chris Heintz
and freshmen Kevin Chappell and Daniel Im, all have the talent to
be competitive but will have to show they can deliver in what is
probably the most important tournament of their careers thus
far.

“It’s a young team, but it’s a good
team,” UCLA coach O.D. Vincent said. “These guys have
pretty high expectations on their own, regardless of the teams
before them.”

To fulfill those expectations, the Bruins will likely have to
overcome a history of slow starts and inconsistencies that have
troubled them all season long. In its last outing, UCLA held a
12-shot lead over third-place Stanford going into the final round
of the Pac-10 tournament, but a precipitous slide saw them fall to
fourth.

Despite their inexperience, the Bruins do have one advantage
over the rest of the field due to their familiarity with the
Stanford course. Before finishing fourth at the Men’s
Intercollegiate Tournament this March, UCLA had won its past two
tournaments at the Palo Alto site. But the Bruins know that earning
a berth to NCAAs won’t be easy.

“This golf course has some tricky greens and kind of funky
shots,” Poucher said. “(Our) experience can only
benefit us.”

Said Vincent, “It’s going to be a dogfight out
there.”

Though this will be a decisive weekend for the Bruins, Vincent
doesn’t want his players to approach the tournament with a
different mindset.

“Regionals are tougher than the NCAA Tournament,”
Vincent said. “One bad day can derail your entire
year.”