By Suzanne Cabral
Daily Bruin Contributor
The rain put a damper on the UCLA men’s golf team as it
placed a disappointing 13th place out of 15 teams at the
Cleveland/Southwestern Golf Classic, which was held on Monday and
Tuesday. The team scored 610, 42-over par at the muddy North Ranch
Country Club in Westlake Village.
The finishes among the competitors were close. The bottom 12
teams ended up within 17 strokes of each other. Cal finished just
ahead of the Bruins in 12th place with a score of 609, 41-over par,
and Brigham Young, which came in second place at this tournament
last year and was expected to be a top team again this year,
finished one stroke behind UCLA with a score of 611.
Arizona State won the tournament at 581, 13-over par.
A ray of sunshine emerged for the Bruins as freshman Steve
Conway, who didn’t play in the past two tournaments,
surprised the Bruins by tying for second place with Arizona
State’s Matt Jones and Jin Park. They scored 143, 1-over
par.
“After not playing in the last two tournaments, I had lost
my confidence a bit,” Conway said. “But it felt good to
be able to play again and work my way out of a slump.”
Freshman John Merrick came in second for the Bruins. He tied for
35th place and scored a 151 (9-over par). Tying for 67th place were
junior Parker McLachlin and freshman Roy Moon, who finished with
scores of 159 (17-over par).
UCLA’s usual No. 1 player, sophomore Travis Johnson, came
in 72nd, scoring 160 (18-over par).
The wet conditions, the Bruins said, were a main factor in their
substandard play
“In the two worst tournaments I’ve had here,
they’ve taken place during rainy weather,” Johnson
said. “The conditions were terrible, the course was totally
unplayable because it was wet and muddy. They should have cancelled
the tournament.
The officials, however, did cancel the second round on Monday
and only three teams shot under 300. Just three golfers shot par or
lower.
Despite the weather difficulties, the Bruins were still unhappy
with the way they played.
“We struggled a bit,” Merrick said. “But
we’re staying positive that come one of these tournaments,
we’ll break out.”
The Bruins will have their chance at the Oregon Duck
Invitational on March 26-27.