Bouncing back can be difficult.

And rebounding against a field that features four of the nation’s top 10 squads can truly test what a team is made of.

After finishing 14th at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate tournament Feb. 7, UCLA men’s golf heads to Las Vegas for the Southern Highlands Collegiate at Southern Highlands Golf Club from March 1 to 3. Sunday’s round marked the Bruins’ first time in the Silver State since the 2021-22 season.

Head coach Armen Kirakossian saw his squad register a 23-under, 841 score across 54 holes in the Bruins’ most recent outing in Hawai’i, placing them 14th in a field of 20 teams.

“It’s a tournament where teams shoot really low,” Kirakossian said. “Unfortunately, in the second round, we timed up two bad rounds together, so we had to count one of them, and that’s how it goes sometimes in college golf.”

Kirakossian also added how course conditions – including the lack of wind on the Mauna Lani Golf Course during the tournament – drove scores down across the board.

On the individual leaderboard, after scoring a season-best 4-over 214 at the Southwestern Invitational in January, freshman Josh Kim earned the Bruins’ top performance with a score of 8-under 208 across his three rounds on the Big Island.

“Josh being our low score as a freshman, I mean, he’s really starting to come on,” Kirakossian said.

Sophomore Baylor Larabee finished one stroke behind Kim at 7-under 209 – a score driven by a 4-under par round on the tournament’s final day. The 2025 Big Ten Freshman of the Year finished the tournament tied for 48th – a position also occupied by fellow Bruin sophomore Logan Kim.

“It’s really easy on a tough setup to get nervous,” Larabee said, “I would say honestly our goals are to just go out there and have fun.”

With the team’s trip to Hawai’i far from the rearview mirror, the Bruins will prepare for the next challenge on the horizon. Playing over 7,500 yards from the black tee boxes, Southern Highland Golf Club will be a much different setting than the North Course at Mauna Lani, which clocks in at around 6,600 yards.

But it is not the course length that Kirakossian is prioritizing in the lead-up to his squad’s next outing.

“It’s very challenging around the greens,” Kirakossian said, “That’s kind of what it’s known for.”

Kirakossian added that, in preparation, the Bruins will undergo their annual short game boot camp to ensure their chipping and putting will be dialed in for the trip to Vegas.

Outside of a tricky course, UCLA will have to contend with a field of highly ranked teams from around the country, including No. 1 Virginia and No. 2 Auburn – the squad that took home the victory in the Amer Ari Intercollegiate three weeks ago.

Action is slated to get underway with the first round Sunday, and the 54 holes of competition will conclude with the third round Tuesday.

“It’s a super competitive field with a lot of good players,” said senior Kyle An, “But it’s most important to focus on what we do and not really paying attention to the other teams.”