Frosh golfer takes off for home, Bock steps back in
Henge returns to Sweden as veteran player joins lineup
By Yoni Tamler
As the UCLA men's golf team rolls into the heart of its spring season, it is without one of their talented starters from last fall.
Freshman Fredrik Henge was a highly touted import from Sweden, where he had competed for the Swedish National Youth team. One of only two true freshmen on the team, Henge started all of the fall tournaments for the Bruins in 1994.
But the academic climate here at UCLA proved too much for the Scandinavian youngster, who dropped out of school after the quarter ended.
"(Henge) didn't want to put that much time into school," UCLA coach Dave Atchison said. "He was like your typical European player, turning professional at a young age."
Atchison referred to current members of the pro tour such as Britain's Nick Faldo, who joined the tour as a teenager.
Little wonder the 1994-95 UCLA men's golf media guide mentions that Henge "admires the style of the legendary Seve Ballesteros." Ballesteros is a native of Spain who, like Faldo, eschewed a higher education, opting to join the professional ranks at age 18.
An upside to Henge's premature departure was the spot vacated on the starting squad. That position was filled by fifth-year senior Brian Bock.
Bock started for the Bruins during his first three years at UCLA, acquiring the most tournament experience of any returning players on this year's team.
Then last year, Bock redshirted, taking the year off to work on his mechanics.
"I thought it would be a building year mentally, but it didn't turn out that way," Bock said. "I got too involved in other extracurricular activities because I found it's hard to remain focused during your redshirt year."
Bock said that there were reason why he did not start until February's tournaments.
"Under pressure, I could never defuse the situation during the competition for starters," he said. "I didn't deserve to start, and so I didn't qualify."
Bock is now back in the starting lineup for UCLA, having competed in his first two tournaments of the season last week in Hawaii.
"Brian showed some good signs in both tournaments in Hawaii," Atchison said. "Besides being a great addition to the team, he is a good person to step in particularly at this point because he brings so much enthusiasm with him."
The Bruins will count on Bock to help lead them back into the NCAA tournament. Last year was the third time in the past six years that the Bruins were unable to qualify for the tournament.
"My goals this year are to help UCLA finish in the top five in the NCAAs and to get my scoring average under 73 strokes," said Bock. "We have two really outstanding players in Eric Lohman and Kevin Rhodes, and if I can start shooting low scores again, we'll have a great chance of succeeding in the NCAAs."