Friday, March 29

Men’s golf to launch spring season following three-month break


UCLA men's golf junior Devon Bling ended his fall campaign with an 8-under 205 at the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational in November 2019. (Courtesy of UCLA Athletics)


The Bruins’ three-month hiatus will come to an end Monday.

UCLA men’s golf will open its spring slate at the Southwestern Invitational in Westlake Village, California, running Monday through Tuesday. The Bruins last competed Nov. 1-3 in the Ka’anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational, where they placed third overall to end their fall schedule.

Coach Derek Freeman said the three-month break between the team’s fall and spring seasons is important since it’s the only one the players get each year, as they compete through the summer.

“Basically they start in January and don’t ever stop until our fall season,” Freeman said. “So the first part (of the goal over break) is to get them healthy, and the second part is to evaluate where they are, what their stats have shown them, any technical issues we need to address.”

UCLA will be facing off with 11 other teams, six of which are ranked in the top-25.

The starting lineup for the Bruins’ will be junior Devon Bling, senior Hidetoshi Yoshihara, junior Eddy Lai, sophomore Bryan Wiyang Teoh and freshman Tony Hendricks. Sophomore Ahmed Ali will compete as an individual.

As six players on UCLA’s 10-man roster are underclassmen, Bling said he has noticed the younger athletes starting to step up and compete for starting spots.

“I see them all fighting for that final-five spot on the team,” Bling said. “(Hendricks) ended up getting it this week and I was super proud of him, and I think he’s going to be a good addition for our tournament.”

The Bruins placed third in the Southwestern Invitational last year and first the year before, and Freeman said his team’s knowledge of the course will be an advantage this time around.

“Our guys know the golf course – we’ve played well there the last two years,” Freeman said. “It’s a very tight golf course, but with that, if you put your ball in the right spot and you keep the ball below the hole when you’re putting, you can have a really successful tournament.”

UCLA closed out last season with an eighth place finish at NCAA regionals in Pullman despite finishing day two in sixth place. The Bruins’ season ended following that round, as only the top-5 teams make the final round.

As the 2020 season kicks off, Lai said last year’s finish will serve as extra motivation.

“Our work ethics this year have been a lot better than the past couple years,” Lai said. “I think it’s because we weren’t satisfied with our result last year, so we have something to prove.”

The Bruins’ first spring tee off will be at 7:45 a.m. on Monday.

Sports senior staff

Dzwonczyk is currently a Sports senior staff writer on the women's soccer beat. She was previously an assistant Sports editor for the women's basketball, women's soccer, beach volleyball, men's golf and women's golf beats. Dzwonczyk was previously a staff writer on the women's soccer, beach volleyball and women's tennis beats.


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