M. golf sends six-man roster to Pac-10 tourney

Published: Monday, May 1, 1995

By Hye Kwon

Daily Bruin Staff

It's time for a gut check for the UCLA men's golf team as it tees off at the Pac-10 Championships starting today in Richland, Wash.

The Bruins have been slumping in their latest outings. In their last four tournaments, which cover a timespan of nearly two months, the Bruins have consistently finished out of the top 10. However, the Pac-10 Championships mark the start of a much anticipated postseason where past woes mean little. The only thing that matters is what the team does henceforth.

"We haven't had all five players do well for a long time," UCLA head coach Dave Atchison said. "If that happens, then good things are in front of us."

Course conditions will likely play a big factor at Richland. Located in a city where desert winds usually blow at 30 to 40 miles per hour, the Meadows Springs Country Club has been known to give golfers all kinds of problems.

"We've been practicing hitting the balls real low," Atchison said. "We don't want the wind to mess around with them."

A new element that UCLA and its opponents must deal with at the par-72, 6,750-yard Meadows Springs Country Club is the six-man format the the tournament will use. That means every team will have to add another golfer to its usual five-man starting roster. Atchison is optimistic that the six-man format will favor his squad.

"The format will definitely suit those teams that have good depth," Atchison said.

The sixth golfer for UCLA will be Trevor Arts. Last year, he finished the season second on the team with a 74.64 scoring average.

Another key golfer for the Bruins will be junior Eric Lohman. At the U.S. Intercollegiate Invites last week, Lohman led the tournament after two rounds and eventually finished third. On the first day of competition, Lohman posted a total of 67, which was a career-best mark.