GLENDALE — Entering the final day of the Men’s Golf Pac-10 Championship at Oakmont Country Club, the question being asked around the golf course was not who was going to win, but rather, how large the margin of victory would be for UCLA.
The answer?
UCLA finished a ridiculous 27 shots ahead of second-place Arizona and a whopping 36 shots in front of third-place Arizona State. The Bruins are bringing back their first Pac-10 crown since 1985, finishing the championship at one-under par.
“I’m a bit surprised no one was within 30-something shots,” UCLA head coach O.D. Vincent said. “Other coaches said their players were having trouble with these greens.”
“It means a whole lot,” junior John Poucher said. “Last year USC won and that was painful. This is what we’ve been talking about all year.”
UCLA junior John Merrick ran away as the 2003 Pac-10 Individual Champion, finishing the tournament at 12-under par and capturing his first career collegiate title. Merrick, who entered the day in a tie with Stanford’s Jim Seki at three-under par, blistered Oakmont Country Club for a course record 63.
Merrick finished 10 shots ahead of second-place Seki and is the first Bruin since Duffy Waldorf in 1985 to win medallist honors.
“It’s always great to win,” Merrick said. “But it’s more fun to win with a bunch of guys you hang out with and are your friends.”
Merrick was one of five UCLA juniors to finish in the top-20 individually. Juniors Steve Conway and Travis Johnson tied for eighth place at two-over par.
“It’s awesome,” said Johnson of bringing the trophy back home to Westwood. “We had some outside pressure of protecting the home-turf. It’s nice to see we came out and played so well.”
Junior Roy Moon finished the championship at three-over par and in a tie for 12th place. John Poucher rounded out the Bruin juniors by finishing in 19th place at nine-over par.
“This week was their week,” Arizona senior Ricky Barnes said. “It was a boring day today. Give it up for Johnny and UCLA.”
Aside from being a great accomplishment for the Bruin players, UCLA’s brilliant performance is largely due to humble first-year head coach Vincent. With the victory, Vincent became the first man to win the Pac-10 Championship as both a player and a coach. He won the individual title for Washington in 1988.
“O.D. is a big part of this win,” Merrick said. “We got off to a great start with his philosophy. When you win one (tournament), you start thinking you can win another.”
UCLA now heads to Washington for the NCAA West Regional with a boatload of extra confidence. They started the season unranked. They began Pac-10 competition ranked 11th, and will surely be placed higher when the new poll comes out.
Should other teams now be watching out for UCLA in this year’s NCAA Championship?
“They better,” Merrick said. “We’re for real this year.”