UCLA Sports Information Sophomore Travis
Johnson led the UCLA Bruins to an 11th-place (out of 15
teams) finish at the Prestige golf tournament last week.
Prestige 1. Northwestern, 855 2.
Pepperdine, 856 3. Stanford, 858 11. UCLA, 888
By Pauline Vu
Daily Bruin Senior Staff The UCLA men’s golf team finished
the fall portion of their season last week at the Prestige
tournament, placing 11th out of 15 teams. There’s no positive
spin about it. The Bruins played badly. “It was
pathetic,” said junior Parker McLachlin. “It was pretty
sad,” said freshman Steve Conway. “We just
sucked,” said freshman John Merrick. Their personal play was
so bad that after the tournament Conway and Merrick didn’t
even check where they finished. Merrick was 50th with a three-round
total of 225. “Oh, man,” he said when told of the
results. “Ouch.” Conway was 66th with a three-round
total of 229. “Oh my God,” he said. “That’s
not good.” The team scored 888 altogether. No. 7 Northwestern
won the event with a score of 855 (9-under par), Pepperdine took
second with 856, and Stanford was third at 858. The team’s
lone bright spot was sophomore Travis Johnson, who placed 11th
overall with 217. “I couldn’t have asked to hit the
ball any better than I did,” he said of his best finish in
the fall. Behind him were freshman Roy Moon (T-29th, 222), Merrick,
McLachlin (T-60th, 228), Conway and sophomore J.T. Kohut (T-81th,
238). Going into the event, the Bruin men expected to do well. At
the previous tournament, the Carpet Classic in Georgia, they
finished sixth in one of the most elite fields in the nation.
“We had confidence from the last tournament, but we just
couldn’t put it together,” Merrick said. Last week,
against a decidedly less strong field, they faltered in the high
winds of the Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert. “The
wind blew pretty consistently in all three rounds,” Conway
said. After two rounds, they were in 12th. Though the Bruins moved
up one place by the end of the tournament, the finish didn’t
satisfy anyone. “We only had one guy who got close to the top
10,” Conway said. “Our whole team has the talent that
we should all finish in the top 10.” Although Johnson is
pleased with his finish, he knows he could’ve done better.
“My putting kind of let me down. I didn’t capitalize on
the opportunity that I had as far as converting birdies,” he
said. “I made lots of pars throughout the whole tournament,
just played real safe and smart.” On the last hole of the
tournament, ““ one of the toughest at the Prestige, with water
on the right side and bunkers on the left ““ Johnson had a
30-foot putt and was just inches short of getting a birdie.
“It kind of stings, that last hole,” Johnson said.
“I tried my best, I couldn’t ask for more, but if I
made that putt, I would’ve made top 10.” Instead, he
managed to make par for his 11th-place finish. The tournament caps
a challenging fall season for the men. Some of the bright spots
include a fourth-place finish at the Husky Invitational (Sept.
22-26), sixth-place finishes at the Carpet Capital (Oct. 6-8) and
Inverness Intercollegiate (Sept. 18-19), and eighth place at the
Northwest Classic (Sept. 11-12). “I think we played pretty
mediocre,” Merrick said of the season. “We have to do a
lot better in the spring. We need to come together as a team
more.” However, Conway and McLachlin both pointed out the
experience the team ““ and especially the team’s three
true freshmen ““ gained in the fall. “Overall, our team
didn’t play as well as we should have, but everybody got some
good experience,” Conway said. “This is my first year
and I feel like I adjusted pretty well. I have a good feel for what
college golf is like.” “The entire fall experience has
been good for our team,” McLachlin added. “Our freshmen
have learned a lot. They’re not really gonna be freshmen
anymore. Coming back in the spring they’re gonna know what it
takes. The spring season ““ that’s really the only
season that counts.” The Bruins, ranked 35th in the most
recent Golf Week poll, can redeem themselves again at the
PING/Arizona Collegiate on Jan. 29-30, when their spring season
begins. “I expect good things out of our team in the
spring,” McLachlin said. “I think it just takes one
really good tournament to get some momentum going.” Or it
could just take one really bad tournament. Like the Prestige.
“This will motivate us to practice harder over the offseason,
for sure,” Conway said, adding with a laugh,
“We’ve got a long time to think about it.”