UCLA women’s golf claims second at Silicon Valley Showcase amid wet conditions
Junior Natalie Vo prepares her swing. (Courtesy of Jesus Ramirez/UCLA Athletics)
Women's Golf
Silicon Valley Showcase
2nd place (+40, 892)
By Sabrina Baker
March 14, 2024 3:06 p.m.
This post was updated March 14 on 3:43 p.m.
Before Monday, junior Natalie Vo was the only Bruin to have played at Green Hills Country Club – which coach Alicia Um Holmes described as a challenging course.
And even with their worst overall scoring round of the season, the Bruins secured silver.
No. 2 UCLA women’s golf finished the Silicon Valley Showcase at 40-over 892 , 35 strokes behind first-place No. 9 Pepperdine. The Bruins’ team score was the highest above-par score they have carded all season, with the next highest coming from the Stanford Intercollegiate in October with a score of 6-over 858.
Um Holmes said the course was difficult and led to the higher scores.
“It’s very hilly, narrow fairways, the rough was high, the greens are really slopey,” Um Holmes said. “And we had a little bit of weather, too, prior to the tournament and during the second day, so the conditions were quite wet.”
The Bruins’ best finisher was Vo, who competed as an individual. Her score of 2-over 215 placed her in a tie for third, her highest finish as a Bruin.
Vo said her game felt strong.
“I was able to hit spots that I wanted to save par on the greens which was very crucial at this golf course,” Vo said. “I made some really good putts to save par.”
Following Vo, three other Bruins placed in the top 10: junior Zoe Antoinette Campos in seventh, junior Caroline Canales in eighth and senior Kate Villegas in a tie for 10th.
All UCLA players carded scores over-par. In the field of 59 golfers, only two – Pepperdine’s Jeneath Wong and San Francisco’s Riana Mission – carded an overall score under-par.
Um Holmes said she wants her players to work on improving their post-round mindset.
“Coming off the course, some of the players were a little bit frustrated and disappointed,” Um Holmes said. “We could do a better job there and how we analyze what we did and how we think about our challenges.”
During the third round, play was delayed due to rain.
Vo said it wasn’t hard to get back into the swing of play.
“We only ended up being delayed for about 45 minutes to an hour,” Vo said. “So, just a bit of stretching to get ready.”
The Bruins will return to action for PING/ASU Invitational on March 28.
Um Holmes said she hopes her team can implement lessons from the Silicon Valley Showcase.
“Hopefully we learn from this adversity, and we can use that moving forward,” Um Holmes said.
