The Bruins won their first tournament since 2018 behind a trio of top-10 finishes.
No. 17 UCLA women’s golf finished in first place at the Chambers Bay Invitational in University Place, Washington, on Monday and Tuesday with a teamwide 12-over 876. The blue and gold ended the tournament 18 strokes ahead of second-place Washington, who UCLA will face again next week at the Pac-12 championships.
Junior Emma Spitz led UCLA, picking up her third career tournament victory after recording the only under-par score in the field with a 1-under 215.
Coach Carrie Forsyth said the key to success for her team was better play from all five players.
“You’ve got to have that consistency of two or three that have a really good tournament, … and then your fourth and fifth players, ideally, are going to be somewhere in the top 25 or 30,” Forsyth said. “This week, we finally put it together and had more players play well.”
Junior Emilie Paltrinieri shot a 1-over 217 and finished in a tie for second, her highest placement of the season. Freshman Caroline Canales rounded out the top-10 placements for UCLA with her 6-over 222 scoreline, good for an eighth-place tie.
The two-day tournament consisted of 36 holes Monday followed by the remaining 18 on Tuesday. Spitz was six strokes under par after the conclusion of the first day and led UCLA to a nine-stroke lead.
According to Spitz, the second day of competition was marred with wind, rain, hail and snow. Despite the conditions, the blue and gold led the field with a 13-over 301 in the final round to secure its 18-stroke victory. Spitz said the win completed one of her goals for the season.
“I put it into my manifestations of the year – my goal was to win an event as a team before I leave,” Spitz said. “To have it done now is really special.”
Paltrinieri’s performance tied for her second best of the season, only trailing a 3-under 213 performance at the PING/ASU Invitational in March. Forsyth said the junior is growing into the player that the coaching staff knows her to be.
“This is the player that we recruited,” Forsyth said. “The COVID year and being locked down in Italy really pushed her back, and it’s taken her time to get back on track. … She’s starting to trend in the right direction with her game.”
Paltrinieri was the only player to participate in both the PING/ASU Invitational and the Silverado Showdown, which ran from April 4 to April 6. After finishing 10th in the former competition, she tied for 75th in the latter.
Despite the low placement in the Silverado Showdown, Paltrinieri said being able to play more rounds was beneficial.
“Playing one more event, even as an individual player, definitely helped me,” Paltrinieri said. “I needed those extra rounds to be prepared in order to perform.”
Redshirt sophomore Ty Akabane and redshirt freshman Alessia Nobilio rounded out the Bruins’ starting lineup, tying for 17th and 34th, respectively. Akabane’s 11-over 227 and Nobilio’s 17-over 233 were the highest scores of the year for both players.
UCLA will return for the start of postseason play in Eugene on Monday for the Pac-12 championships.
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