Thursday, February 8
Kona, HI
All Day
UCLA
at
Amer Ari Invitational
Alex Papayoanou
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
Men’s Golf to Compete at Amer Ari Invitational in Hawaii
February 06, 2024 | Men's Golf
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's golf team will compete at the 33rd annual Amer Ari Invitational at Mauna Lani Golf Course in Waimea, Hawaii, beginning Thursday, Feb. 8.
The three-day, 54-hole stroke play event concludes Saturday, Feb. 10. The 19-team field features seven top-25 teams.
UCLA Lineup: Omar Morales, Luke Powell, Pablo Ereño, Alex Papayoanou and Kyle An.
UCLA Individual Competitors: Luciano Conlan.
The Field: (7) Arizona State, (1) Auburn, (12) Florida State, (11) Georgia Tech, Hawai'i Hilo (DII), Hawai'i, (2) North Carolina, Oklahoma State, (17) Oregon, Oregon State, Pacific, Pepperdine, San Jose State, Stanford, (22) Texas Tech, UC Davis, UCLA, Texas, (4) Washington.
* rankings by Scoreboard powered by Clippd.
Weather Report: Partly cloudy with temperature highs in the low 70s.
Par and Yardage: Par 72.
Last Time Out
UCLA tied for third at 9-under 843 at the Southwestern Invitational at North Ranch Country Club on Jan. 31. The performance marked the Bruins' third top-3 team finish of the season.
UCLA held the lead over the 13-team field several moments throughout the final round, but Ohio State eventually won the title with a score of 13-under 839.
Morales and Powell were the Bruins' top two finishers with each securing their fourth top-10 placement of the season. Morales placed eighth at 6-under (70-68-69) and Powell tied for ninth at 5-under (67-69-72).
History at the Amer Ari Invitational
UCLA has hoisted the team title at the Amer Ari Invitational twice. The Bruins won in 2003 and were co-champions with Washington in 2013 with a score of 22-under 842.
Bruins at a Glimpse
UCLA's top two leaders in scoring average are Powell (69.8) and Morales (70.2). Both golfers have competed in every stroke play tournament this year. Powell, the No. 1-ranked freshman and No. 7-ranked overall collegiate in the country, shot under par in eight of his 12 rounds in the fall and broke 70 on six occasions. The freshman from Laguna Niguel, Calif. has had a dominant start to his UCLA career with three top-3 finishes and four top-10 finishes over his first five tournaments. Powell prepped at Capistrano Valley Christian Schools where he captured both the 2023 CIF State Championship and 2023 CIF Southern Section Individual Regional title.
Morales is playing some of the best golf of his career in 2023-2024. Morales capped his fall with three top-5 placements, shooting under par eight of nine rounds and breaking 70 seven times. The Puebla, Mexico native has shot under par in nine consecutive rounds. Morales leads UCLA with 11 rounds under par and nine rounds in the 60s.
Providing stability in the middle of UCLA's lineup are An and Ereño. An is averaging 72.3 strokes over 12 rounds in his sophomore campaign, highlighted by a t-11th spot at the Hamptons Intercollegiate.
Fall 2023 Recap
Head coach Armen Kirakossian has the Bruins playing their best golf in years in just his second season leading UCLA. In Fall 2023, UCLA posted a pair of top-3 team finishes and shot a collective 39-under par across 15 rounds of play at four tournaments. The Bruins placed third in their second event of the season at the Hamptons Intercollegiate (-30) and runner-up at The Cal Poly Invitational (-16) to close 2023.
The fall was highlighted by back-to-back individual wins from Powell and Morales. Powell, in just his second collegiate tournament, shot 17-under 199 (64-67-68) to secure his first title at the Hamptons Intercollegiate on Oct. 2-3. Powell's 54-hole score in relation to par was the second lowest in program history and his total score of 199 is tied for the third lowest 54-hole mark in program history. Powell opened round one of the Hamptons Intercollegiate with a bogey-free, 8-under 64, which is tied for the seventh lowest 18-hole score in program history and is tied with Patrick Cantlay, Jonathan Garrick and Steve Conway for the lowest 18-hole score by a UCLA freshman.
On Oct. 13-15, Morales claimed his second career medal in UCLA's next event at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate where he shot 11-under 205 (68-68-69).
Morales Named SwingU Golfer of the Month
For his victory in Georgia, runner-up finish at The Cal Poly Invitational (207, -9) and t-5th spot at The Hamptons Intercollegiate, Morales earned national acclaim being named SwingU Golfer of the Month for October. The Puebla, Mexico native shot under par in eight of nine rounds played in October for a stroke average of 69.2. Morales' worst score across that stretch was a 1-over 73 in the third round of the Hamptons Intercollegiate.
Morales' medal in Georgia also earned him Pac-12 Men's Golfer of the Week honors.
UCLA in the "Scoreboard" Individual Rankings
No. 7 Luke Powell
No. 27 Omar Morales
Morales in the U.S. Open
Morales competed in his first major championship event last summer at the 123rd U.S. Open at hallowed Los Angeles Country Club (June 15-18, 2023). Morales, who hit the first tee shot of the tournament, sat atop the leader board at -3 after the turn in round one. Caddying for Morales was his collegiate head coach Kirakossian.
Morales earned his spot in the field by winning his qualifying round at one of the Bruins' home courses in Hillcrest Country Club with back-to-back 65s to finish 12-under.
The three-day, 54-hole stroke play event concludes Saturday, Feb. 10. The 19-team field features seven top-25 teams.
UCLA Lineup: Omar Morales, Luke Powell, Pablo Ereño, Alex Papayoanou and Kyle An.
UCLA Individual Competitors: Luciano Conlan.
The Field: (7) Arizona State, (1) Auburn, (12) Florida State, (11) Georgia Tech, Hawai'i Hilo (DII), Hawai'i, (2) North Carolina, Oklahoma State, (17) Oregon, Oregon State, Pacific, Pepperdine, San Jose State, Stanford, (22) Texas Tech, UC Davis, UCLA, Texas, (4) Washington.
* rankings by Scoreboard powered by Clippd.
Weather Report: Partly cloudy with temperature highs in the low 70s.
Par and Yardage: Par 72.
Last Time Out
UCLA tied for third at 9-under 843 at the Southwestern Invitational at North Ranch Country Club on Jan. 31. The performance marked the Bruins' third top-3 team finish of the season.
UCLA held the lead over the 13-team field several moments throughout the final round, but Ohio State eventually won the title with a score of 13-under 839.
Morales and Powell were the Bruins' top two finishers with each securing their fourth top-10 placement of the season. Morales placed eighth at 6-under (70-68-69) and Powell tied for ninth at 5-under (67-69-72).
History at the Amer Ari Invitational
UCLA has hoisted the team title at the Amer Ari Invitational twice. The Bruins won in 2003 and were co-champions with Washington in 2013 with a score of 22-under 842.
Bruins at a Glimpse
UCLA's top two leaders in scoring average are Powell (69.8) and Morales (70.2). Both golfers have competed in every stroke play tournament this year. Powell, the No. 1-ranked freshman and No. 7-ranked overall collegiate in the country, shot under par in eight of his 12 rounds in the fall and broke 70 on six occasions. The freshman from Laguna Niguel, Calif. has had a dominant start to his UCLA career with three top-3 finishes and four top-10 finishes over his first five tournaments. Powell prepped at Capistrano Valley Christian Schools where he captured both the 2023 CIF State Championship and 2023 CIF Southern Section Individual Regional title.
Morales is playing some of the best golf of his career in 2023-2024. Morales capped his fall with three top-5 placements, shooting under par eight of nine rounds and breaking 70 seven times. The Puebla, Mexico native has shot under par in nine consecutive rounds. Morales leads UCLA with 11 rounds under par and nine rounds in the 60s.
Providing stability in the middle of UCLA's lineup are An and Ereño. An is averaging 72.3 strokes over 12 rounds in his sophomore campaign, highlighted by a t-11th spot at the Hamptons Intercollegiate.
Fall 2023 Recap
Head coach Armen Kirakossian has the Bruins playing their best golf in years in just his second season leading UCLA. In Fall 2023, UCLA posted a pair of top-3 team finishes and shot a collective 39-under par across 15 rounds of play at four tournaments. The Bruins placed third in their second event of the season at the Hamptons Intercollegiate (-30) and runner-up at The Cal Poly Invitational (-16) to close 2023.
The fall was highlighted by back-to-back individual wins from Powell and Morales. Powell, in just his second collegiate tournament, shot 17-under 199 (64-67-68) to secure his first title at the Hamptons Intercollegiate on Oct. 2-3. Powell's 54-hole score in relation to par was the second lowest in program history and his total score of 199 is tied for the third lowest 54-hole mark in program history. Powell opened round one of the Hamptons Intercollegiate with a bogey-free, 8-under 64, which is tied for the seventh lowest 18-hole score in program history and is tied with Patrick Cantlay, Jonathan Garrick and Steve Conway for the lowest 18-hole score by a UCLA freshman.
On Oct. 13-15, Morales claimed his second career medal in UCLA's next event at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate where he shot 11-under 205 (68-68-69).
Morales Named SwingU Golfer of the Month
For his victory in Georgia, runner-up finish at The Cal Poly Invitational (207, -9) and t-5th spot at The Hamptons Intercollegiate, Morales earned national acclaim being named SwingU Golfer of the Month for October. The Puebla, Mexico native shot under par in eight of nine rounds played in October for a stroke average of 69.2. Morales' worst score across that stretch was a 1-over 73 in the third round of the Hamptons Intercollegiate.
Morales' medal in Georgia also earned him Pac-12 Men's Golfer of the Week honors.
UCLA in the "Scoreboard" Individual Rankings
No. 7 Luke Powell
No. 27 Omar Morales
Morales in the U.S. Open
Morales competed in his first major championship event last summer at the 123rd U.S. Open at hallowed Los Angeles Country Club (June 15-18, 2023). Morales, who hit the first tee shot of the tournament, sat atop the leader board at -3 after the turn in round one. Caddying for Morales was his collegiate head coach Kirakossian.
Morales earned his spot in the field by winning his qualifying round at one of the Bruins' home courses in Hillcrest Country Club with back-to-back 65s to finish 12-under.
Players Mentioned
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