UCLA men’s golf falters in back-to-back tournaments during spring break
Senior Eddy Lai was UCLA men’s golf’s best finisher at The Goodwin in Stanford over the weekend, carding a 2-over 212. (Jeremy Chen/Daily Bruin)
By Austin Tran
March 30, 2021 5:05 p.m.
UCLA was on spring break, but the Bruins were still on the course.
UCLA men’s golf completed its weeklong road trip Saturday. The team competed at the Duck Invitational on March 22 and 23, finishing 42-over par as a team – good for eighth place out of 15 teams at the tournament hosted by Oregon. Two days later, the Bruins competed at The Goodwin, finishing 16th in the 28-team field.
“While we didn’t play that well overall, there were some really good points for everybody that we can learn from and take away,” said coach Derek Freeman. “We just got to keep working and keep grinding, and we’ll get better.”
At the Duck Invitational, junior Bryan Wiyang Teoh led the team with a total score of 5-over 218. He finished tied for 11th overall and didn’t card a score worse than bogey throughout the tournament.
Senior Devon Bling followed with a total score of 8-over 221. This was his first finish outside the top-15 all season, and he was coming off a win at the Lamkin San Diego Classic two weeks prior.
Sophomore Mason Greene ended up with a total score of 14-over 227, good for a tie for 40th place. He found himself in 21st after round two but dropped 19 spots after carding a final round of 80.
Rounding out the men’s golf lineup were senior Eddy Lai and freshman Ty Griggs. The former carded rounds of 78 and 77 on day one of the tournament and finished with a closing 73 to end up in a tie for 47th place.
Griggs ended up 31-over par for the tournament, finishing in solo 79th. He did not card any birdies after the 13th hole in his first round.
Lai said the quick turnaround time between the competitions and the difference in the courses proved tough for the Bruins.
“It was definitely pretty tough, especially the first tournament in Oregon,” Lai said. “It was 36 holes, cold and rainy the whole day, and the course we played at was really narrow. … Part of it was that the greens in Oregon were super fast, … (and) when we went to Stanford, the greens were super slow, and I don’t think we adjusted fast enough to the speed of the greens out there.”
Following the Duck Invitational, UCLA made a lineup change as redshirt junior Kengo Aoshima – a transfer from Wake Forest – replaced Griggs.
At The Goodwin, it was Lai who carded the lowest tally on the team, finishing with a 2-over 212, good for a tie for 24th place.
Lai attributed his improved performance at The Goodwin to better ball striking.
“I hit the ball so bad in Oregon,” Lai said. “However, five holes into the practice round (before The Goodwin), our assistant coach told me one little thing about … my swing, so I started hitting the ball good. That kind of helped translated it to the rest of the tournament. I did OK – didn’t play too bad.”
Bling again was the Bruins’ second-lowest finisher, recording a 6-over 216, tying for 46th.
Following his COVID-19 quarantine earlier in the season, Aoshima made his UCLA debut, finishing in a tie for 68th place with a 10-over 220. He said he was excited to be back on the course but was unsatisfied with his play.
“I’m happy I’m back competing. I’m happy I’m playing for UCLA,” Aoshima said. “With all that said, I am very frustrated by my performance. I have very high standards for myself, and I didn’t live up to those standards by any means. I’m just going to get back to work and, hopefully, be back better for next week’s tournament.”
Rounding out the lineup was Teoh and Greene. They both carded a 12-over 222, tying for 82nd place.
UCLA has a week until it tees it up again at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic in Chandler, Arizona.
