After 11 months off, men’s golf starts season with last-place finish at The Prestige
Senior Devon Bling was UCLA men’s golf’s best finisher at The Prestige. (Courtesy of UCLA Athletics)
By Jay Fenn
Feb. 19, 2021 1:19 p.m.
The Bruins had their lowest-ever finish at The Prestige in their return to the links after 11 months.
UCLA men’s golf opened its 2021 season shooting a 44-over 896, which put it last place in the 24-team field. The last time the Bruins shot a score this high was 2004 when they won The Prestige with a 40-over 904.
UCLA ended the first day of the tournament having shot a 15-over 299, good for last place, then had its worst day of the tournament for day two when it shot an 18-over 302. The Bruins recovered on day three, having their best day of the tournament shooting an 11-over 295.
Coach Derek Freeman said even though his team is disappointed with the poor performance, it can learn from the experience.
“It was a huge disappointment for us,” Freeman said. “There were some good things we can draw upon; we just got to turn right around and get better.”
With it being the Bruins’ first tournament in over 11 months, Freeman said the nervous energy and rust were evident. For most players on the team, it was their first time playing a competitive golf tournament since their season was canceled last March.
“Most of these guys haven’t played competition golf for 11 months, and that really showed,” Freeman said. “They were very nervous (and) tentative, and we made a lot of mistakes.”
Despite the last-place finish for the team, senior Devon Bling earned a top-15 finish with a 1-over 214 for the tournament. Even with the individual result, the GCAA/PING Third Team All-American said he too was disappointed with the team’s result in the tournament.
“As a team (the result) wasn’t even close to what we were wanting,” Bling said. “It was a little bit of an eye-opener, but stuff like this happens.”
Bling shared a similar belief with Freeman, that with it being most of the players’ first competitive tournament in months, nervous energy and rust were to be expected.
“Playing golf with friends and at home courses is just a completely different feeling than going to a tournament and playing competitive golf,” Bling said. “I think there might of been some nerves and some feeling of discomfort, just overall none of us felt amazing with our golf games coming into this event.”
The rest of the starting lineup consisted of juniors Bryan Wiyang Teoh, who shot a 14-over 227, and Ahmed Ali, who shot an 18-over 231. Sophomore Mason Greene, who also tallied an 18-over 231, and freshman Ty Griggs, who registered a team-high 23-over 236, rounded out UCLA’s squad.
Bling said a bright spot of the event was that the team improved as the tournament went on. The Bruins as a whole had their best scores on the final day of the tournament.
“Getting a few competitive rounds under our belts, and getting a little more comfortable resulted in a little better score,” Bling said. “I know a few of the guys, it is their first time being at the course, so getting a little more comfortable (was important).”
Even with the poor start to its season, Bling said the team will look to reevaluate itself and improve every week.
“We just got to work on a few things and get back into competitive play,” Bling said. “It obviously wasn’t the result we wanted, but we can only go up from here and get better.”
UCLA will have a one-day break before its next tournament, the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, which begins Friday.
