Friday, August 29th, 2008

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<p>Junior Travis Johnson reacts to a poor tee shot in the third round of the NCAA Championships in O

Junior Travis Johnson reacts to a poor tee shot in the third round of the NCAA Championships in O

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Bruins tied for third going into final round

STILLWATER, Okla. — In golf tournaments spanning four rounds, the third round is referred to as “moving day,” the round during which you get yourself in the best position for the final round. 

Unfortunately for the UCLA men’s golf team, it moved down the leaderboard of the NCAA Championship with a disappointing 13-over par third round. The Bruins are tied for third place with Florida at 35-over par, with only one round left at the brutally difficult Karsten Creek Golf Club.

UCLA was among the leaders for most of the round, but took a drastic turn for the worst on the 15th hole. Over the last four holes, the Bruins combined to shoot nine-over par, an over-par margin that was bettered by five teams on their full 18-hole rounds.

“We had a bad stretch over the last four holes,” head coach O.D. Vincent said. “We’re disappointed to have let some teams get that far ahead of us.”

The Bruins find themselves 11 shots back entering the final round, but are still optimistic that the challenge facing them is surmountable.

“We’re going to need a great round and some help from (Clemson and Oklahoma State) tomorrow,” junior Steve Conway said. “On the last three or four holes, we probably gave up eight or 10 shots. That can happen just as easily tomorrow to any given team. The top four teams are still in it.”

The Clemson Tigers showed why they were the No. 1 ranked team in the country, playing outstanding golf to shoot one-under par on Thursday, the only sub-par team round of the championship. The Tigers moved to 24-over par and lead the championship by a single stroke over Oklahoma State.

A bright spot for the Bruins was the resurgent play of Steve Conway. Conway struck the ball crisply and putted his way to a two-under 70 in the third round, UCLA’s best round of the tournament. Conway is in a tie for 23rd going into Friday’s round.

“The biggest difference for me today was my putting,” Conway said. “This is definitely the best putting round I’ve had for over a month.”

Junior Travis Johnson shot his third straight two-over 74, leaving him at six-over par for the championship and tied for 17th place.

“The humidity and the heat got to me a little bit,” said Johnson of the Oklahoma weather. “I was a little tired and felt dizzy on a couple of putts, and made bogeys on both of the holes.”

Junior John Merrick, UCLA’s highest ranked player entering Thursday’s round, was unable to escape Karsten Creek’s wrath on the 10th and 16th holes, shooting seven-over par on those two respective holes. Merrick played stellar golf for the rest of the round, birdying the 18th hole to shoot a respectable five-over 77, leaving him at eight-over par for the tournament and in a tie with teammate Conway. 

The Bruins will need to play the rounds of their lives tomorrow to give themselves a decent chance of walking away with the championship trophy. The first step to achieving that goal is to stay within themselves and their abilities.

“We want to play 72 holes as hard as we can, and we don’t want any regrets when we leave this place,” Vincent said. “I think we’ll do the exact same thing (tomorrow) that we’ve done for the first few rounds. Things haven’t really gone our direction yet, but we’re going to hang around, plug around, and see if they do tomorrow.”