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John Poucher shoots a 3-under-par 69 Thursday in the first round of the NCAA West Regional. UCLA

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The UCLA men’s golf team started building some early momentum for next month’s NCAA Tournament, grabbing the lead in the West Regional through the first day of action Thursday.

Needing only to finish in the top 10 of the 27-team field to advance, the top-seeded Bruins overcame a relatively slow start to fire a combined 5-under-par 283 at Crosswater Golf Course in Sunriver, Ore.

New Mexico finished the day one shot back, and Arizona State, BYU, Toledo and USC all came in three shots off the pace.

UCLA was led by four birdies from all-around individual leader Travis Johnson. The senior shot a 6-under 66, holing two birdies on the front nine and avoiding bogey all day long.

The round was good for a two-shot lead over second-place Justin Bertsch of Toledo heading into Friday’s second round.

Junior John Poucher had the second-best day for UCLA, carding a 3-under 69 after a 4-under front nine, leaving himself in a five-way tie for third.

Included in the tie is temperamental New Mexico sophomore Spencer Levin, who left UCLA after a freshman season in which he was suspended for violating team rules. Since then, Levin has garnered all-Mountain West Conference honors and helped the Lobos win the conference title on the same course at Sunriver Resort where the West Regional, hosted by the University of Portland, is being played.

In any case, the Bruins’ position atop the leaderboard fits perfectly with their apparent plan to peak in the playoffs.

After being devastated in last year’s championships by losing a final-round lead, UCLA’s experience-laden squad appeared to be coasting through the regular season, waiting to reassert itself once the second season began.

Still, the Bruins, coached for the second year by O.D. Vincent, will need better days out of senior triumvirate Steve Conway, John Merrick and Roy Moon if they hope to maximize their potential at the NCAA Championships in Hot Springs, Va. They are all currently tied for 50th in a field of 140 golfers, after 2-over rounds.

One of the low 2-over rounds was dropped from UCLA’s final score for the day.

Merrick particularly needs to rebound, considering he birdied two consecutive holes to start his round. Meanwhile, Moon shot a 5-over front nine before recovering with three birdies on the back nine.

The Bruins continue play this morning in the eight o’clock hour from the 10th tee.