Department of Intercollegiate Athletics J.D. Morgan Center * P.O. Box 24044 * Los Angeles, CA 90024-0044 * Phone: (310) 825-8699 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: RICH BERTOLUCCI Apr. 23, 2004 310-206-8141 /rbert@athletics.ucla.edu Bruins Travel to Arizona for Pac-10 Championships UCLA looking to defend its title and repeat as champions for the first time since 1982. 2004 UCLA Men s Golf Quick Facts National Ranking: 3rd (GCAA) Recent Results: UCLA 1 st at U.S. Intercollegiates, Apr. 17-18 at Stanford. Upcoming Events 45 th Pac-10 Championships at The Gallery at Dove Mountain GC, Tucson, AZ (Par 72, Yds: 7,412) The 2004 Bruins Peter Campbell, 6-2, Fr., Encinitas Steve Conway, 6-1, Sr., Newport Beach Chris Heintz, 5-11, Fr., Brea Travis Johnson, 6-2, Sr., Bellflower John Merrick, 6-0, Sr., Long Beach Breene Murphy, 5-11, So., Los Alamitos Roy Moon, 6-1, Sr., Simi Valley John Poucher, 6-2, Jr., Santa Barbara Joakim Renstrom, 5-10, Fr., Taby, Sweden website: www.uclabruins.com The third-ranked UCLA men's golf team travels to the Tucson, AZ for the 45 th Pacific-10 Conference Men's Golf Championship to be played at The Gallery at Dove Mountain Golf Course. The University of Arizona will host the event, Apr. 26-28. The format calls for 72 holes of stroke play and each team will field a five-man team with the four lowest scores counting after each round. The golf course measures 7,412 yards and plays to a par of 72. The Bruins will field a team of four seniors, a junior and a freshman. Last season, the Bruins won their first conference title in 18 years, defeating second place Arizona by 27 shots at Oakmont Country Club in Glendale. UCLA's John Merrick, then a junior, won the individual title by firing a course record nine-under par 63 in the final round. In the history of the tournament, the Bruins have won four men's conference golf titles (1982, 83, 86 and 03). In capturing each title, the Bruins also produced the league's individual champion: Corey Pavin (1982), Steve Pate (1983), Duffy Waldorf (1986) and Merrick. The Bruins enter this year's event as the league's top-ranked team with four team victories, including the Fall Preview. Three UCLA players, led by senior Travis Johnson (No.27) are ranked among the nation's top 50 players. Senior Steve Conway is ranked 35 th and Merrick is ranked 49 th. In addition, junior John Poucher is ranked 89 th. "We're prepared and ready to play," said Head Coach O.D. Vincent. "We have set some goals and winning the conference title is one of them." Johnson leads the team in stroke average (71.5), Top 10 finishes (6), rounds under par (14) and rounds under 70 (7). In four of his last five events, he has finished no worse than tied for eighth. He placed fourth at the Bruins last tournament, the U.S. Intercollegiates. Conway ranks second on the team in stroke average (71.6), rounds under par (13) and rounds under 70 (7). Ninety-seven percent of his 29 rounds have counted in team scoring, a team leader. He also won the MacKenzie Invitational, his fourth collegiate title, in October. Merrick, who won the Inverness Invitational in September, finished second at the U.S. Intercollegiates. He is averaging 72.3 strokes per round and 93 percent of his scores have counted in team scoring. "Any one of these three players can win the conference championship," said Vincent. "And if any of our other three players gets hot, they could win it, too. I'm very confident about our chances."
Bruin Notes (updated 4/23/04) Coach O.D. Vincent: At Washington, he led the Huskies to four NCAA Championship berths in six seasons with a best finish of fourth in 1999, the year he won GCAA National Coach of the Year honors. Including that season, he has guided two teams to four straight NCAA berths. In eight seasons as a collegiate head coach, Vincent has guided two schools to 21 tournament victories, won conference coach of the year honors twice (once at each institution), coached 17 All-Pac-10 players and four All-Americans. In his first season at UCLA, Vincent earned 2003 Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors, Pacific Region Coach of the Year, placed four players on the Pac-10 All- Conference Team and led the Bruins to seven tournament victories, a modern school record. He also coached three All-Americans and one Academic All-American. Recently, he was named the men's coach for the USA-Japan Team Matches, scheduled for July, 2004, in Chiba, Japan. Steve Conway, Senior, Newport Beach, CA; Stroke Avg.: 71.6 Leads the team in Top 20 finishes. Ranks second on the team in scoring at 71.6 Top 10 finishes (5) and rounds under par (13). Won his third individual title at the MacKenzie Invitational. His score of 200 for 54 holes was one stroke off the school record set in 1985 by Duffy Waldorf. Two of Conway's three titles have come on courses designed by Alister MacKenzie: the 2003 Western Intercollegiates at Pasatiempo and the 2004 MacKenzie Invitational at the Meadow Club. Ranked 35 rd nationally by GolfWeek (4/22). Travis Johnson, Senior, Bellflower, CA; Stroke Avg.: 71.5 Ranked 27 th by GolfWeek (4/22). Leads the team in scoring (71.5), rounds under 70 (9), Top 10 finishes (6) and rounds under par (14). 13-time member of the Director's Honor Roll. Tied for third at the Fall Preview. Boasts eight career Top 10 finishes. Fired a season low score of 66 (-5) in the second round of the Cleveland Classic. Earned First-Team GCAA Academic All-America honors in 2003. John Merrick, Senior, Long Beach, CA; Stroke Avg.: 72.3 Ranked 49 th by GolfWeek (4/22). Won the Inverness Invitational to begin the year and boasts two career individual collegiate titles. Stroke average of 72.3 ranks third on the team. Also tied for fifth at the Husky Invite. Boasts 13 career Top 10 finishes. Defending Pac-10 individual champion. Roy Moon, Senior, Simi Valley, CA; Stroke Avg.: 74.0 Recorded Top 20 finishes in four of his last six events: tied for 20 th at the MacKenzie, tied for 11 th at the Prestige, tied for 13 th at the Anteater Invitational and tied for sixth at the U.S. Intercollegiates. Reigning Southern California Amateur champion. John Poucher, Junior, Santa Barbara, CA; Stroke Avg.: 73.0 Won the Fall Preview, his first collegiate title. Stroke average is almost two shots better than last year's. Boasts nine rounds under par, triple his total from last year. Ranked 89 th by GolfWeek (4/22).
Peter Campbell, Freshman, Encinitas, CA: 73.7 Won his first collegiate title, the Wyoming Cowboy Classic by playing the final 36 holes in fiveunder par. Fired a collegiate best score of 66 in the second round, where he birdied 10 of the last 15 holes after a slow start. Has recorded three Top 10 finishes in 24 rounds. Also finished fourth at the Anteater Invitational. Boasts six rounds under par and five rounds under 70. Will play as the sixth man at the Pac-10 Championships. Chris Heintz, Freshman, Brea, CA; Stroke Avg.: 74.0 Qualified for the Buick Open in San Diego by shooting a 71 on Oct. 25 and earning one of two spots available for amateurs. Missed the cut at the tournament in February by two shots. Boasts four Top 10s in nine appearances this season. Tied for fourth at the Cowboy Classic, posting a pair of 69s in the final two rounds. Tied for ninth at The Prestige, UCLA's best individual finish at the event. Tied for eighth at the Anteater Invitational. Breene Murphy, Sophomore, Los Alamitos, CA; Stroke Avg.: 75.8 Tied for 11 th at the Carson Daly Invitational. Tied for 12 th at the Cal Poly tournament after posting a final round 69. Joakim Renstrom, Freshman, Taby, Sweden; Stroke Avg.: 73.7 Placed third at the Cowboy Classic after a four-under par 66 in the second round. Finished seventh at the Anteater. Has four Top 20 finishes in 24 rounds. The 2003-04 Bruins The Bruins won three out of five events during the Fall season and were ranked No.2 entering the Winter schedule. The Bruins were ranked No.1 on Oct 10, marking the first time they were on top of the rankings since 1981. The last time the Bruins won their first two tournaments to begin a season was 1984. The 2003-04 squad is the only UCLA team to win its first two tournaments and produce two different individual champions. Dating back to February of 2003, the Bruins (varsity) have won 11 of their last 18 events, and have produced six individual champions: Steve Conway (3), John Merrick (2) and John Poucher (1). Dating to the Fall of 2002, the Bruins have finished among the Top 10 teams in 23 straight events (in which the first team has competed). The Stellar Careers of UCLA's Senior Class Name Rnds Wins T10 T20 Avg. <70 <Par Low Steve Conway 130 3 13 21 72.8 23 41 64 Travis Johnson 133 0 10 23 73.0 22 39 65 John Merrick 152 2 13 22 72.8 27 46 63 Roy Moon 119 0 7 15 73.9 14 30 62 Totals 534 5 43 81 86 156 62
2003-04 UCLA Men s Golf Individual Statistics and Results Tournament Steve Travis John Roy John Date/Course (Par) Conway Johnson Merrick Moon Poucher Inverness Invite 73 73 71 84 77 Sept. 19-20 74 78 74 77 75 Inverness Club (71) 76 T-8 75 T-22 71 1 st 73 T-49 73 T-13 Fall Preview 78 72 74 78 70 Sept. 22-23 72 T-47 68 T-3 70 T-17 74 T-61 68 1st The Cascades (70) Husky Invite 74 72 72 74 Sept. 29-30 79 72 71 71 Gold Mtn. Olympic (72) 68 T-13 80 T-23 75 T-5 75 T-8 MacKenzie Invite 67 67 75 73 73 Oct. 13-14 65 71 68 70 71 The Meadow Club (71) 68 1 st 77 T-31 73 T-36 70 T-20 70 T-26 The Prestige 72 75 68 76 Nov. 3-4 72 74 75 76 LaQuinta Mtn. (72) 70 10 th 71 T-22 72 T-11 69 T-28 TaylorMade 71 70 77 73 68 Feb. 11-13 71 69 72 71 77 Waikoloa Kings (72) 69 T-12 71 T-8 70 T-52 71 T-29 69 T-24 Cleveland Classic 74 77 71 74 74 Mar. 1-2 72 66 78 81 75 North Ranch CC (71) 69 T-9 76 T-26 68 T-19 78 77 th 80 T-64 Las Vegas 72 70 68 72 Mar. 12-14 76 68 76 73 South. Highlands (72) 74 T-32 73 T-6 73 T-22 78 T-28 Augusta State Inv. 70 68 74 76 70 Apr. 3-4 68 71 70 77 76 Forest Hills GC (72) 71 4 th 74 7 th 78 T-21 76 T-73 78 T-34 U.S. Intercollegiates 74 69 74 70 70 Apr. 17-18 70 70 68 68 70 Stanford GC (71) 71 T-12 71 4 th 66 2 nd 73 T-6 71 T-6 Total Strokes/Rounds 2079/29 2075/29^ 2097/29 1924/26^ 2119/29 Stroke Average 71.6 71.5 72.3 74.0 73.0 ^includes scores from previous page Team Statistics Conway Johnson Merrick Moon Poucher Tournament Wins 1 0 1 0 1 Top 10 Finishes 5 6 3 1 3 Top 20 Finishes 8 6 5 4 4 Rounds Under Par 13 14 9 8 9 Rounds Under 70 7 9 5 2 4 % of Rounds Used 28/29 (97%) 25/30 (83%) 27/29 (93%) 17/26 (65%) 25/29 (86%)
Tournament Peter Chris Breene Joakim Roy Travis Date/Course (Par) Campbell Heintz Murphy Renström Moon Johnson Husky Invite 79 82 Sept. 29-30 85 83 Gold Mtn. Olympic (72) 73 T-56 73 T-59 CSUN Invite 78 (I) 73 (I) 72 (I) 74 (I) Oct. 20-21 69 72 73 73 Wood Ranch CC (72) 75 T-38 74 T-23 76 T-33 73 T-26 SCU Invite 79 (I) 73 (I) 76 (I) 82 (I) Oct. 27-28 73 72 77 71 Silver Creek VCC (72) 71 T-9 72 T-2 77 T-21 71 T-11 The Prestige 68 70 Nov. 3-4 74 76 La Quinta Mtn. (72) 71 9 th 75 T-28 Anteater Invite 69 71 75 72 77 Feb. 22-23 74 72 75 72 71 Santa Ana CC (72) 72 4 th 74 T-8 82 T-41 73 7 th 74 T-13 UCR Classic 86 83 82 78 Mar. 8-9 76 78 86 77 SCPGA GC (72) 72 T-30 78 T-52 76 T-66 82 T-47 Las Vegas Inv. 74 Mar. 12-14 74 South. Highlands (72) 79 T-57 CP SLO Invite 79 77 76 75 Mar. 25-26 76 76 78 77 Cyrpess Ridge (72) 74 T-30 71 16 th 69 T-12 79 T-35 Carson Daly Inv. 66 78 71 73 Apr. 5-6 71 69 70 71 Robinson Ranch (71) 72 1 st 75 T-16 77 T-11 71 T-5 Cowboy Classic 75 71 72 70 69 Apr. 12-13 66 69 70 66 67 Talking Stick (70) 69 T-13 69 T-4 73 T-28 70 3 rd 71 T-4 Total Strokes/Rounds 1769/24 2000/27 1821/24 1771/24 see previous see previous Stroke Average 73.7 74.0 75.8 73.7 page for totals page for totals (I)-Participated as an individual. Underscore indicates low round Team Statistics Campbell Heintz Murphy Renstrom Team Tournament Wins 1 0 0 0 4 Top 10 Finishes Top 20 Finishes 3 4 4 6 0 2 3 4 28 43 Rounds Under Par 6 6 2 4 71 Rounds Under 70 5 4 1 1 38 % of Rounds Used 15/18 (83%) 20/21 (95%) 12/18 (67%) 14/15 (93%)
2003-04 UCLA Men s Golf Team Results UCLA Score Top UCLA Date Tournament (Host) /Finish Individual Sept. 19-20 Inverness Invitational (Toledo) 1 st, 886 Merrick (216, 1 st ) Sept. 22-23 Fall Preview (Virginia Tech) 1 st, 572 Poucher (138, 1 st ) Sept. 29-30 Husky Invitational (Washington) 3 rd, 1,111* Merrick (218, T-5) Oct. 13-14 MacKenzie Invitational (California) T-2 nd, 835 Conway (200, 1 st ) Nov. 3-4 The Prestige (UC Davis/Stanford) 1 st, 859 Heintz (213, 9 th ) Nov. 7-9 Collegiate Match Play Championships 1-2-0, 9 th Feb. 11-13 TaylorMade Big Island Classic (Hawaii-Hilo) 2 nd, 844 Johnson (210, T-8) Feb. 23-24 Anteater Invitational (UC Irvine) 1 st, 872 Campbell (215, 4 th ) Mar. 1-2 Cleveland Classic (USC) T-6 th, 875 Conway (215, T-9) Mar. 8-9 Braveheart Classic (UC Riverside) 14 th, 954 Campbell (234, T-30) Mar. 12-14 Southern Highlands Classic (UNLV) T-6 th, 871 Johnson (211, T-6) Mar. 25-26 Fidelity National Invitational (Cal Poly SLO) T-5 th, 907 Murphy (223, T-12) Apr. 3-4 Cleveland/Augusta State Inv. (Augusta State) T-2 nd, 866 Conway (209, 4 th ) Apr. 5-6 Carson Daly Invitational (LMU) 1 st, 864 Campbell (209, 1 st ) Apr. 12-13 Wyoming Cowboy Classic (Wyoming) 1 st, 829 Renstrom (206, 3 rd ) Apr. 17-18 U.S. Intercollegiates (Stanford) 1 st, 838 Merrick (208, 2 nd ) Total Strokes/Number of Rounds (Gold Team)...7446/26 Average Strokes Per Round (Gold Team)...286.3 Total Strokes/Number of Rounds (Blue Team)...4426/15 Average Strokes Per Round (Blue Team)...295.0 *Best five-out-of-six format. Total not included in team season averages. Blue Team results.