By Suzanne Cabral
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA men’s golf team has big apple pie in the sky
hopes of making it to the national championships at the end of the
spring season. But to get there, they will need to improve their
game to make the cut for the Pac-10 and West Regionals.
The beginning of this season was marked with finishes that were
not so promising. The Bruins finished 14th at the Arizona/PING
Intercollegiate in January. This disappointing start pushed the
team harder in practice and they improved, finishing 11th at the
TaylorMade Big Island Classic in Hawaii in February.
These finishes made the Bruins aware that they need to improve
their style and focus if they want to realize their championship
hopes. Now, the team is eager to show everyone what they have up
their sleeves.
“We weren’t as dedicated as we should have been in
the beginning,” sophomore Travis Johnson said. “We
rededicated ourselves, and kinda like planting a tree, you
won’t see our results overnight, but they will
come.”
The Bruins have put many more hours into practice than required.
The team is supposed to meet four times a week in the morning, but
has been meeting seven times a week, both mornings and evenings.
They often spend Friday nights practicing and get together
afterward to bond as a team, going bowling or having team
dinners.
One of the main challenges for the team is its youth. The
players who usually compete include freshmen John Merrick, Roy Moon
and Steve Conway, sophomores Johnson and J.T. Kohut and junior
Parker McLachlin. There are only two seniors on the team, Ross
Fulgentis and Steve Wagner, but they have not significantly
contributed this season.
Merrick averages 75.8 shots in 21 rounds. He had a top-20 finish
at the Carpet Capital event, where he tied for 18th place.
Averaging 77.5 in 12 rounds with one round under par, Moon also
finished in the top 20 at the LMU/Farmer John Classic.
Conway is second in team scoring with an average of 73.9 in 15
rounds, and 93 percent of these rounds have counted in scoring. He
has been the top finisher for the Bruins in three out of seven
tournaments this season.
Johnson is currently the team’s top player, scoring 73.7
in 21 rounds with six rounds under par and two rounds under 70. He
holds two top-10 finishes and six top-20 finishes.
Kohut also has one top-20 career finish and averages 76.9
strokes in 18 rounds. He has a career best score of 70.
McLachlin averages 75.2 strokes in 18 rounds and 88 percent of
his scoring has contributed in team totals. He tied for 10th place
at the TaylorMade Big Island Classic and tied for 13th at the
Inverness Intercollegiates and Husky Invitational. McLachlin also
earned six career top-10 finishes and 11 career top-20
finishes.
The Bruins are still compensating from the loss of Brandon
DiTullio, a 2000 All-American honorable mention who earned the
right to play in the NCAA Championships as an individual by tying
for sixth place at the NCAA West Regionals. With DiTullio’s
graduation the team lost the most consistent player its most
consistent player of the last four years.
But things are looking brighter for the Bruins. With the
rededication of team work ethic, the Bruins are ready to come away
with good finishes in the upcoming season and qualify for the NCAA
Championships.
“The coach (Brad Sherfy) thinks that we are the hardest
working team he has seen in the six years he has coached
here,” Johnson said. “We have a very strong team and
with all the work we’ve put in, we’ll blossom at the
right time.”
MEN’S GOLF Based on inter squad competition,
the top five men’s golfers represent UCLA at different tournaments.
SOURCE: UCLA Sports Info Original by VICTOR CHEN/Daily Bruin Web
adaptation by ROBERT LIU/Daily Bruin Senior Staff