Thursday, March 28

Men’s golf finishes in 4th place at Wolf Pack Classic


In his first competitive tournament since 2019, senior Sean Maruyama of UCLA men's golf scored a 2-over-par to finish in 18th place at the Wolf Pack Classic in Reno, Nevada. (Courtesy of UCLA Athletics)


This post was updated Oct. 15 at 2:00 p.m.

The Bruins posted their best finish in their last seven tournaments dating back to last season.

UCLA men’s golf finished in fourth place at the Wolf Pack Classic in Reno, Nevada held on Monday and Tuesday. In a field of fifteen teams, the Bruins were in third place after the first round of play, but slid down one spot after the third and final round, despite shooting their lowest score of the week.

Across the tournament, the lowest scores were shot Tuesday as a result of friendlier conditions compared to Monday, according to junior Sean Maruyama, who said the first day was cold and windy, while the second day featured nicer weather.

“The weather was brutal, – it was snowing the first day,” Maruyama said. “It was very windy so I thought the course was playing really hard. On the (second day), it was pretty warm and conditions were pretty good so I knew scores were going to be low, but we just couldn’t get it done.”

The Wolf Pack Classic marked Maruyama’s first tournament since 2019, who cited wrist and back injuries as the reason he did not compete in the 2020-21 season.

For this tournament, Maruyama said he came in with a different approach, focusing on completing the tournament rather than paying attention to the score.

“I was more concerned about getting through three rounds,” Maruyama said. “I was just praying my body would hold up and it held up pretty good and I feel good right now.”

The Encino native said he needed to make better choices on the golf course, as his decision-making was a little rusty. The junior finished 2-over-par in the three rounds, good for a solo 18th place finish in his return.

Coach Derek Freeman also emphasized the players work on their course management. Like Maruyama, Freeman said this component of the game is very rusty for the Bruins, attributing this to the lack of tournament experience.

For the second consecutive week, Devon Bling led the team in scoring, finishing at a total of 1-over-par for a tie for 15th place. However, the graduate student said he was not satisfied with his play.

“I’m a little bit disappointed in my performance, I know I can play a lot better than that,” Bling said. “I made a few bad mistakes, but nothing I can’t learn from and use it in a positive note.”

Following him was Maruyama and freshman Omar Morales. Making his collegiate debut for UCLA this week, Morales finished with a total of 3-over-par to tie for 19th.

Rounding out the lineup was graduate student Eddy Lai and freshman Alvaro Mueller-Baumgart Lucena. Lai carded a 9-over-par finish, resulting in a tie for 45th place, while Mueller-Baumgart Lucena finished with a score of 13-over par to tie for 55th.

Coach Derek Freeman said he feels optimistic about the direction the team is headed in. The 15th-year coach added that he is fortunate to get the team back together, especially with illness and injury plaguing the team.

“We haven’t played our best but there are a lot of good things this team is going to be capable of,” Freeman said. “There’s a lot of small successful stories that we have going on, period. (I’m) really happy with the guys. They’re training hard and they’re working hard.”

UCLA will head to Georgia for the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational before heading into a three-month break.

“If we just do a good job with preparation and understanding what we need to be doing, I think our guys will have a great event,” Freeman added. “That will lead us into what we need to focus on in the practice season after we finish this fall season.”

Sports reporter

Tran is currently a Sports reporter on the men's and women's golf beats.


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