UCLA women’s golf plays through rain, finishes 6th in Lamkin Invitational
No. 14 UCLA women’s golf freshman Zoe Antoinette Campos follows through after a drive. Campos tied for 26th in the tournament with a 10-over 226 over three rounds. (Courtesy of Alicia Um-Holmes/UCLA Athletics)
By Joseph Crosby
Feb. 17, 2022 1:36 p.m.
The Bruins secured a top-half finish despite poor conditions on the second day of play.
No. 14 UCLA women’s golf placed sixth out of a 14-team field at the Lamkin Invitational on Monday and Tuesday, finishing with a 30-over 894 in its second 54-hole, two-day tournament of the season. Junior Emma Spitz earned her second top-10 finish of the season, leading the team and tying for sixth place overall with a score of 3-over 219.
But after tying her season best with a 4-under 68 during the second round, Spitz posted a season-worst 7-over 79 during the third round Tuesday.
The junior said the rough weather made it harder to play during the second day of competition.
“It was cold, it was raining (and) it was windy,” Spitz said. “The wind was switching, and it was hard sometimes to calculate it correctly. … Especially on days where you don’t feel 100% comfortable, it makes it even harder to get back into a good rhythm.”
The rest of the team collected one top-20 finish and a pair of top-30 finishes, with freshman Caroline Canales tying for 16th at 8-over 224, freshman Zoe Antoinette Campos tying for 26th at 10-over 226 and junior Yuki Yoshihara tying for 28th at 11-over 227. Redshirt freshman Alessia Nobilio rounded out the starting five, tying for 49th at 17-over 233.
Canales found consistency across the tournament, shooting a 2-over 74 in both the first and third rounds and a 4-over 76 in the second round. The freshman said preparation was the key to her success.
“I spent the last three weeks diving into (my putting),” Canales said. “Knowing that my short game was there to help me, and that I could chip up and be confident in my putting in particular, definitely helped keep the scores lower.”
Canales’ 2-over 74 in the third round was a team best by three strokes on the final day of the tournament. She said past intrasquad qualifying tournaments gave her practice in a rainy environment, contributing to her performance in the suboptimal conditions Tuesday.
However, prior to dealing with weather on the second day of competition, the Bruins had to endure 36 holes on day one. Campos said fatigue played a role in the final round Tuesday.
Campos collected her fourth under-par round of the season during the second round, shooting a 1-under 71 and putting her at a 3-over 147 for the day. A triple bogey on the ninth hole of round one skewed Campos’ score, as she was one over par on the other 17 holes.
“I’ve played 54 holes in two days before, but it’s always tiring after 36,” Campos said. “I definitely felt that while I was playing. Even though I couldn’t tell I was tired, I knew I was because my swing was off.”
Canales, on the other hand, said the added holes did not influence her play, and it was the weather on the second day that had the biggest impact.
“When you’re just playing, at least for me, I don’t really feel tired because I’m in the zone,” Canales said. “I’m just going out and playing golf rather than focusing on what hole it is or what my score is. … When you’re playing, you’re just focused on that and not how long you’ve been out there.”
While the Bruins finished in the middle of the pack, Spitz said the tournament highlighted what the team needs to work on moving forward.
“That was a really tough course,” Spitz said. “It’s a really good course to show you what your weaknesses are. Everybody knows what they need to work on these next weeks before our next tournament.”
UCLA will play its next tournament at The Gold Rush in Seal Beach, California starting Feb. 28.
