Pressure in sports is an abstract idea, but fans and athletes alike can sense it in big events.
Its presence causes many to fold, but champions embrace it.
Last year the young Bruins on the men’s golf team were not able to handle the pressure of the championship, failing to capture a title after placing first in stroke play.
“We were playing well in the stroke play, but we had a really bad day in the quarterfinal against Duke,” junior Pontus Widegren said.
“You could say this is a good time for redemption from last year.”
Today at the Riviera Country Club, No. 3 UCLA will look to overcome such obstacles as it begins its pursuit of the program’s third NCAA Championship.
The first three days of the tournament are in standard stroke play format. Following that, the top-eight teams advance to a match play tournament that decides the champion.
According to coaches, the key to thriving in the intense environment of the NCAA Championship is mental and emotional control.
“(The team needs to) try to get a good feel for what’s happening, then get on our own little world and play good golf,” coach Derek Freeman said.
“That’s what we’re trying to do: manage our emotions and our games in a way that’s going to allow us to accomplish what we’re trying to accomplish.”
As well as psychological stability, the Bruins will need a repeat of the performance sophomore Patrick Cantlay had a year ago.
In stroke play of the NCAA Championship last year, Cantlay finished in second place, leading UCLA to a first-place finish heading into match play.
However, the team will need strong performances from more than just Cantlay to win, and he hopes that in the loss last year, this year’s team benefitted.
“We’ll definitely draw on our experiences from last year, and I think it made us a better team this year since four of those five guys (who competed last year) are playing,” Cantlay said.
Four players ““ Cantlay, Widegren, senior Alex Kim and junior Pedro Figueiredo return from last year’s championship roster.
More experience isn’t the only thing different for the Bruins.
No longer will they simply be under the typical pressure of competing for a national championship.
They will also be playing under the weight of higher expectations, as they will play in front of crowds at the nearby Riviera and are arguably a better team than they were last year.
The biggest difference, though, may be that they are prepared to embrace such pressure.
“All of us really enjoy (playing under pressure). Personally, playing golf is the most fun thing I know, but when I do it in front of people, it’s even more fun,” Widegren said.
“That’s something I really enjoy. It’s a good pressure. It’s a pressure that good athletes step up to; you can’t shy away from it.”