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By J.P. Hoornstra

DAILY BRUIN SENIOR STAFF

jhoornstra@media.ucla.edu

Orrin Daniel Vincent III was mounting a comeback.

Vincent – better known by his initials, OD – was one of the top collegiate golfers from 1987-1991 at the University of Washington. After graduating, his talent allowed him to rise up the pro golf ranks quickly.

In 1992, he qualified for the PGA Europe Tour, circumnavigated the Eastern Hemisphere for a series of international tournaments, and even golfed his way into the British Open.

He never quite rose as high as he wanted, however, and he returned to UW as a volunteer assistant during the 1994 season. When he was named the Huskies’ head golf coach in 1996, he intended it to be a short-term gig. But five years and four NCAA tournament appearances later, the short term had become the long term, and the itch to turn pro resurfaced.

He left the Huskies after the 2001 season for the pro circuit, and by January 2002, Vincent had qualified for his first PGA event, the Phoenix Open. He just missed the cut, firing a 147 for the first two rounds. Months later, he set a course record at Temecula Creek Golf Course in San Diego while on a North American Tour event.

The comeback had begun.

And then UCLA called with a job offer.

“I missed coaching more than I thought I would,” said Vincent, announced Tuesday as the Bruins’ new men’s golf coach.

“I left Washington thinking my coaching career was closed. When I was contacted by UCLA, I thought how intriguing it would be, especially at such a great school.

“I started missing coaching, the relationships with all the players, and I got real fired up to get back into it.”

Vincent will be thrown into the fire immediately when he arrives on campus July 1. It’s the first day that coaches can begin recruiting high-school seniors, and he plans to immerse himself in the workload right away, one ear glued to his new phone in the Morgan Center.

The job opportunity arose after Brad Sherfy announced his resignation on June 3 following seven years as head coach. Vincent said he expects to sit down with his predecessor in the coming days to discuss the team he inherits.

In 2002, the Bruins missed an NCAA tournament berth by three strokes. UCLA won six tournament titles in the last seven years under Sherfy, and finished eighth at the 1998 NCAA Championships.

Sherfy was voted Pac-10 Coach of the Year that year; Vincent was named College Golf Association Coach of the Year the following year.

“OD Vincent represents a future of great achievements for the UCLA men’s golf program,” Associate Athletic Director Glenn Toth, who hired Vincent, said in a statement.

Vincent is aware that he is one of the best golfers among the current NCAA coaches, and he will be stepping immediately off the golf course and into the coach’s office. Is his latest coaching job just a stopping point along another comeback trail to the PGA?

“I have every intention of making this UCLA coaching job more long term,” he said. “I want people to, when they think about UCLA, think about golf.”

And so begins another comeback for Vincent – as a coach.