Every course, hole and shot in golf is different.

But sometimes, it is history that repeats itself – or at least, rhymes.

UCLA men’s golf won its second consecutive Big Ten championship May 1-3, leading the field in North Plains, Oregon, with an 8-under 832 to beat second-place No. 12 Illinois – the same team the Bruins bested by a single stroke in last year’s conference tournament. Josh Kim walked in the footsteps of former Bruin Omar Morales, who won the individual title last year, as the freshman took home the trophy at the Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in one fewer shot than his predecessor.

“He was unbelievably solid in that performance at the tournament,” said coach Armen Kirakossian. “In big pressure moments, hitting great shot after great shot, making the putts. It was really awesome to watch.”

Kim’s leading performance of 8-under 202 – highlighted by 15 birdies and opening with 31 straight bogeyless holes – marked his first collegiate win and came under the pressure of TV cameras and a field of spectators packed with Fighting Illini fans.

“I definitely felt more pressure with the cameras up,” Kim said. “I used my teammates and built off their energy and stuck to my game plan and focused on what I can control myself.”

Freshman Tyler Loree and sophomore Baylor Larrabee joined Kim at the top of the leaderboard, tying for seventh place with 2-under 208s. Loree’s 4-under second round marked the lowest 18-hole score to par of his UCLA career, while Larrabee battled through a bout of illness toward the end of the tournament to secure his fourth top-10 finish of the season.

Larrabee, who rose 51 spots from his 2025 performance, said the outcome represented his development as both a golfer and a leader, a sentiment Kirakossian echoed.

“Last year, we lose Pablo (Ereño) and Omar (Morales) to graduation,” Kirakossian said. “We got two new guys that come in, so for them to step into that role and meet those standards that were left from the year before is a testament to the culture of the players.”

The Bruins – whose score was rounded out by a 23rd-place 4-over 214 from junior Alex Papayoanou – trailed by two strokes after the first round, but they surged ahead on the second day, when four players went under par to claim a commanding lead.

Kirakossian said he was especially proud of his team’s ability to persevere through the high pressure of holding onto the lead against a fast-climbing Illinois squad on day three.

This past weekend’s victory in Oregon marked just the second of the Bruins’ season, the other coming at the Fighting Irish Classic in Indiana in October on a course that Larrabee said was demanding off the tee in a way that played to the team’s strengths, similarly to Pumpkin Ridge.

“A lot of courses in the Pacific Northwest have OB (out of bounds) on both sides or trees on both sides,” Larrabee – a Ferndale, Washington, local – said. “We can really separate ourselves from other teams just because our drivers are so straight.”

The driving ability may have helped the Bruins on par-5s, where they led the event with an average score of 4.64 to reach 16-under par across the long holes.

Kim said his work throughout the year to drive the ball farther helped him take more aggressive lines with his tee shots.

Beyond besting Illinois, UCLA outscored nine other squads with more than .500 records, schools with automatic NCAA regional bids whom it may face again May 18-20 at one of six sites across the nation.

Kirakossian said, no matter where in the country the Bruins find out they will be heading during the selection show Wednesday, the game plan remains the same.

Kim and Larrabee both said the team is rolling on good momentum heading further into the postseason.

And, if history continues to rhyme like it did this week, that momentum will carry the Bruins to a second consecutive shot at the national championship.

“I feel really excited,” Larrabee said. “Our young guys are starting to really get the confidence and the reps under their belt. And so with that, and with our depth this year, we can be really scary going into regionals.”