UCLA men’s golf finishes in 21st place after windy competition at The Prestige
Freshman Evan Chien swings his club. Chien and UCLA men’s golf secured a 21st place finish at The Prestige on Wednesday. (Courtesy of UCLA Athletics)
MEN'S GOLF
The Prestige
21st place (+59, 911)
By Austin Tran
Feb. 26, 2022 1:58 p.m.
Despite a final-day rebound, the Bruins couldn’t get over the weather.
UCLA men’s golf finished in 21st place at The Prestige in La Quinta, California, in a field of 24 Wednesday. The Bruins’ freshman-heavy lineup finished with a 59-over par total, with its lowest score being a 13-over par 297 on the final day.
In the second round, the Bruins tallied a one-over par in the front nine before finishing 27-over par in the back nine, picking up a 19-over par on the last four holes.
Coach Derek Freeman said the Bruins’ performance could be attributed to unlucky tee times.
“The interesting part about this tournament is that there are two waves: There’s a morning wave and an afternoon wave,” Freeman said. “Unfortunately we got on the wrong side of the waves, so our (weather) conditions were extremely hard compared to the other waves.”
The Bruins played the second round in the morning wave, in which wind conditions were initially calm before picking up to 30 to 40 miles per hour gusts toward the latter half of the round, according to USGA officials.
Graduate student Eddy Lai – who led the Bruins with a score of 11-over par for the tournament – said the difficulties of the second round boiled down to the team’s struggles with putting on the greens and approaching shots against the wind.
“I shot 77 the first round, I thought I hit every single shot the way I wanted to,” Lai said. “It was just the wind was so strong and didn’t really go to my favor. (The wind) blew me out of my stance and I missed a one-and-a-half footer.”
Following Lai were freshmen Pablo Ereño Perez and Evan Chien. Ereño Perez carded a 15-over par 228 to finish in a tie for 59th place, while Chien led UCLA in scoring on the final day for a 16-over par 229 tournament total to tie for 68th.
The Prestige marked Chien’s second career collegiate tournament. Chien said his emotions were different this time around.
“The first tournament, I was pretty nervous, I didn’t know how I would fare against the other guys,” Chien said. “They just have a little more experience but skill-wise, it’s not that different.”
Rounding out the Bruins were freshmen Alvaro Mueller-Baumgart Lucena and Omar Morales. Mueller-Baumgart Lucena scored a 17-over par total and Morales shot 23-over par, good for ties for 77th and 103rd, respectively.
Freeman said the other teams in the tournament had more success with the wind, but also added that playing in these conditions provided a learning experience for the Bruins.
“We have to be able to manage our games better in the elements,” Freeman said. “The players are starting to understand that sometimes a good score may not be a par or a birdie. It might be a bogey that might be a good score on that particular hole or situation. We’ll do a better job as we move forward.”
Southern Highlands Collegiate
For the second time this season, UCLA will play in Nevada when it competes at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas from Sunday to Tuesday.
The lineup for the tournament will consist of mostly freshmen, with senior Bryan Teoh in place of Morales after The Prestige. There will still be some veteran experience, with Lai having previously played at the Southern Highlands Golf Club.
The Bruins will tee off Sunday.
