UCLA
NCAA Regionals
Bruins Head to Pullman for NCAA Regional
May 12, 2019 | Men's Golf
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PULLMAN, Wash. - The fifth-seeded Bruins embark on the NCAA Pullman Regional on Monday, as the three-day, 54-hole tournament will be played through Wednesday at the Palouse Ridge Golf Club's par-70, 7,232-yard layout.
The scoring fivesome for the Bruins will be seniors Cole Madey and Patrick Murphy, junior Hidetoshi Yoshihara and sophomores Devon Bling and Eddy Lai. Senior Jack Ireland will serve as the alternate. Play starts on Monday at 8 a.m. off the 10th tee for the Bruins in the order of Murphy, Yoshihara, Lai, Bling and Madey.
Joining the 29th-ranked Bruins in the 14-team Regional field are No. 5 Oklahoma, No. 8 Georgia Tech, No. 17 South Carolina, No. 20 Texas A&M, No. 32 BYU, No. 41 Colorado State, No. 44 Florida, Michigan State, Purdue, Kent State, Northern Colorado, Wright State and Iona.
A total of 81 teams made the NCAA Regionals at six different sites in Pullman, Wash., Stanford, Calif., Athens, Ga., Simpsonville, Ky., Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Austin, Texas. The top five teams from each Regional (54 holes of stroke play) will advance to the NCAA Championship in Fayetteville, Ark. (May 24-29) at Blessings Golf Club.
The Bruins have won five Regional titles, including three under head coach Derek Freeman (2009, 2011 and 2013).
UCLA has been on a roll, posting back-to-back wins at the SeattleU Redhawk Invitational (April 1-2) and the Wyoming Cowboy Classic (April 8-9), a third-place finish at the ASU Thunderbird Collegiate (April 12-13) and a second-place showing at the Pac-12 Championship (April 22-24), in its last four events, combining to shoot 67-under par. All told, the Bruins have seven Top 4 finishes this season. In 36 rounds, UCLA is a combined 60-under par, including 47-under in their second rounds. The Bruins have shot in red figures in 20 of 36 rounds.
Madey, an All-Pac-12 Second Team honoree, is one of the hottest golfers in the conference heading into NCAA Regionals, having finished third (Pac-12 Men's Golf Championship, -5, 279), tied for eighth (ASU Thunderbird Collegiate, -3, 210) and first (Wyoming Cowboy Classic, -13, 203) in his last three tournaments. Madey has been under par in 18 of his 33 rounds, including 12 of his last 14. All of his Top 10s this season have come in April, as he also has three other Top 20 showings. Of his 18 under-par rounds, 11 are in the 60s, including six of them in his round twos, where he has a combined score of 10-under this season.
Bling, an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention selection, has had quite an April tying for second at the SeattleU Redhawk Invitational (-11, 202), placing sixth at the Pac-12 Championship (-2, 282) and making the cut at The Masters, one of four amateurs to do so. Bling is second to Madey (71.3) in scoring average at 71.6, recording three Top 10s (T-10 at Southwestern Invitational) and four Top 20s. Of his 11 under-par rounds, six have been in the 60s, including a pair of 5-under 66s this season.
Lai, who earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention plaudits, has three Top 10s and six Top 20s on the season, tying for sixth at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic (-7, 209) and tying for seventh at the Pac-12 Men's Golf Championship (-1, 283). Lai has 15 under-par rounds, including eight in the 60s. He is a combined 3-under in his third rounds, including 11-under in his last four third rounds.
Yoshihara holds a scoring average of 71.8, having posted a victory at the SeattleU Redhawk Invite, a pair of Top 10s and six Top 20s. He has recorded 12 under-par rounds, including seven in the 60s, with a season-low, 9-under 62 in the second round in Seattle. Yoshihara, who tied for 37th at Pac-12s, has at least one under-par round in each of his last four tournaments.
Murphy has a scoring average of 71.7, tying for third at the ASU Thunderbird Collegiate and tying for 14th at the Pac-12 Championship. He was under par in each of his last two rounds at ASU, shooting a 3-under 68 and a 4-under 67. Murphy has been under par in four of his eight tournaments, and has also been under par in four of his first rounds, shooting a combined 9-under in the first round this season.
Players Mentioned
