This post was updated Oct. 22 at 10:54 p.m.
Giving it your all and grinding out a victory aren’t always synonymous in sports.
UCLA men’s golf finished second at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate Invitational in Alpharetta, Georgia, on Sunday, posting a 25-under 839 for the tournament.
The Bruins were perched atop the leaderboard entering the third and final round and went on to shoot their best round of golf of the tournament, posting a 9-under 279 to wrap up their weekend.
“I feel like we should have won that golf tournament,” said coach Armen Kirakossian. “I mean, we were leading. We went into the final round, we did what we were supposed to do.”
However, the Duke Blue Devils would shoot an invitational-best 17-under 271 on the final day, sneaking past UCLA to claim the tournament for itself.
Ultimately, the Bruins finished three strokes behind Duke, who carded a 28-under 836.
In what was its third outing of the season, UCLA played arguably its best rounds of golf so far. Collectively, all five Bruin golfers finished in the tournament’s top 20.
“It just goes to show that we’ve got the players, they have the game, and when it all comes together for us, we’re a top team,” Kirakossian said.
Senior Omar Morales finished with a tie for fifth after hitting 7-under 209, while his senior counterpart Pablo Ereño placed 10th after a 5-under 211.
The Bruins also found more depth across their roster than they had in previous events this season. Junior Kyle An shot up the leaderboard with a final round 4-under 68, his overall 4-under 212 securing him a tie for 11th. Additionally, sophomore Luke Powell and freshman Baylor Larrabee both shot 1-under 215 to tie for 20th.
“This is one of the first times we actually all played pretty well, so it was nice to see that,” An said. “We’re starting to have a lot of camaraderie and kind of build on each other’s games.”
Prior to day three, the Bruins were inching to their first win of the season with a one shot lead on the scoreboards. Momentum and confidence were on the team’s side, Larrabee said.
However, Duke’s comeback on the final day thwarted UCLA’s celebrations from being met with a trophy.
“They just played better than us at the end of the day,” An said. “It’s a tough loss, but still a lot of good to build off from there.”
Nonetheless, this weekend’s invitational proved to be by far the best result for the Bruins this season. After being in high-seeding contention for other tournaments – then failing to deliver on the final day – UCLA’s trip to Georgia hinted at its ability to compete from start to finish. However, Kirakossian noted that there is still plenty of room to grow.
“It’s still really early in our season,” Kirakossian said. “We want to make sure that we celebrate the good and that we continue to improve.”
The Bruins will wrap up their fall season at the Preserve Golf Club Collegiate in Carmel, California, starting Monday.
Comments are closed.