By Dylan Hernandez
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
He says he’s changed, that he’s a new man. Calmer,
more confident, he says.
Of course, it’s easy for John Merrick to say that before
the start of the season, when nothing has gone wrong yet.
But there’s some reason to believe that Merrick, a
sophomore on the UCLA golf team, isn’t another mediocre
athlete on a mediocre team giving fluff quotes to the student paper
because his coach and teammates would frown otherwise.
Merrick has actually been winning.
In July, the 6-foot-tall blonde from Wilson High School in Long
Beach took both the Long Beach City Championships and Southern
California Amateur. Later, he qualified for his third straight U.S.
Amateur Championships. With all that came a confidence that borders
cockiness, a belief that he can be an All-American, a Pac-10
champion.
“If I play like I did this summer, I’ll have a good
chance of winning,” Merrick said.
UCLA golfer. Winner.
Something about that doesn’t look right ““ when was
the last time anyone from that team won anything? ““ but
Merrick, at least for now, intends to keep that label ““
“winner.”
The Bruins, who didn’t have an individual tournament
winner last year, better hope he can.
With junior Travis Johnson redshirting this season for personal
reasons, UCLA will go into every tournament short-handed. And if
the team’s intersquad qualifying rounds ““ which
determine which players will travel to events ““ are any
indication, Merrick will be the Bruins’ leader, the one who
will have to perform above expectations if the team intends to
return to the NCAA championships for the second straight year.
“John’s playing as well as anyone’s ever
played in qualifying,” UCLA head coach Brad Sherfy said.
“Over eight rounds, he’s been 20-under.”
“John’s playing as well as anyone’s every
played in qualifying.” Brad Sherfy
Men’s golf head coach
As a freshman last fall, Merrick stumbled early, going through
the difficulties that the average freshman athlete goes through
““ balancing class, social life and sport. His swing, which
Sherfy compared to those of Ernie Els and Fred Couples, lost its
rhythm.
But toward the end of last year, Merrick settled down and
finished sixth individually at the West Regionals.
“He really came out at the end of last season,” Golf
World writer Ryan Herrigton said. “A lot of people regard him
highly. He has a lot of potential in the eyes of a lot of coaches.
Everything I’ve heard about him has been good.”
Merrick saw that the extra balls he hit, the extra stairs he ran
that season did him some good. So he did more.
Then came the summer.
Now, Merrick’s fairly certain he’ll be going to
tournaments on the East Coast next summer. A spot on one of the
professional tours should follow that.
But before any of that, Merrick has a season to play, a team to
lead.
“I’m a little nervous,” Merrick said of the
UCLA season that starts this weekend at the Carpet Capital
Invitational in Georgia. “But I’m anxious, mostly. I
can’t wait to get in there and get competitive.”