Monday, January 29
Westlake Village, CA
All Day
UCLA
at
Southwestern Invitational
Pablo Ereño
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
Bruins Make Return to Southwestern Invitational
January 27, 2024 | Men's Golf
LOS ANGELES – The UCLA men's golf team returns to the Southwestern Invitational at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, beginning competition on Monday, Jan. 29.
The three-day, 54-hole stroke play event runs through Wednesday, Jan. 31 with 18 holes each day. Tee times are scheduled for 8 a.m. (PT) each day. Fans can follow along with this live scoring link.
UCLA Lineup: Omar Morales, Luke Powell, Luciano Conlan, Pablo Ereño, Alex Papayoanou and Kyle An.
The Field*: (18) California, Colorado, Houston, (27) Ohio State, Pepperdine (host), (48) San Jose State, (34) San Diego State, (21) Texas Tech, (31) UCLA, UNLV, USC, (42) Wake Forest and (4) Washington. *
* rankings from Scoreboard powered by Clippd.
Weather Report: Sunny skies on day one with temperature highs in the mid 70s. Partly cloudy and cloudy on days two and three, respectively.
Par and Yardage: Par 71, 6,800 yards.
Last Time Out
UCLA placed runner-up to No. 19 Arizona, 7-5, in the first-place match of The Copper Cup on Jan. 15 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa, Ariz. The Bruins defeated rival USC, 9-2, in their first match of the event the previous day.
History at the Southwestern Invitational
This week marks the Bruins' 37th time competing at the Southwestern Invitational in the tournament's 45-year history. UCLA has been attending the Southwestern Invitational since its beginning in 1978 when Bruin Corey Pavin won the inaugural medal by one stroke (-10, 278). Three Bruins have been crowned as individual champions four times: Corey Pavin (1978, 1981), Steve Conway (2003) and Patrick Cantlay (2011).
UCLA has captured the team title at the Southwestern Invitational on five occasions (1979, 1981, 1984, 2003 and 2018). UCLA's 1981 win by 26 strokes is the largest margin of victory in tournament history.
The Bruins' most impressive finish of last season came at the 2023 Southwestern Invitational where UCLA tied for fifth in a highly competitive field of 12 teams. Ereño and Morales both finished in the top 20. Ereño tied for ninth (-1) for his lone top-10 result of 2022-2023.
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.
Bruins at a Glimpse
UCLA's top two leaders in scoring average are Powell (69.9) and Morales (70.5). Both golfers have competed in every stroke play tournament this year. Powell, the No. 1-ranked freshman and No. 8-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 over his first four 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, coming off a runner-up placement at the Latin America Amateur Championships (-8) in Panama City, Panama last week, 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.
Providing stability in the middle of UCLA's lineup are An and Ereño. An is averaging 72.4 strokes over nine rounds in his sophomore campaign, highlighted by a t-11th spot at the Hamptons Intercollegiate.
UCLA in the "Scoreboard" Individual Rankings
No. 8 Luke Powell
No. 28 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 runs through Wednesday, Jan. 31 with 18 holes each day. Tee times are scheduled for 8 a.m. (PT) each day. Fans can follow along with this live scoring link.
UCLA Lineup: Omar Morales, Luke Powell, Luciano Conlan, Pablo Ereño, Alex Papayoanou and Kyle An.
The Field*: (18) California, Colorado, Houston, (27) Ohio State, Pepperdine (host), (48) San Jose State, (34) San Diego State, (21) Texas Tech, (31) UCLA, UNLV, USC, (42) Wake Forest and (4) Washington. *
* rankings from Scoreboard powered by Clippd.
Weather Report: Sunny skies on day one with temperature highs in the mid 70s. Partly cloudy and cloudy on days two and three, respectively.
Par and Yardage: Par 71, 6,800 yards.
Last Time Out
UCLA placed runner-up to No. 19 Arizona, 7-5, in the first-place match of The Copper Cup on Jan. 15 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa, Ariz. The Bruins defeated rival USC, 9-2, in their first match of the event the previous day.
History at the Southwestern Invitational
This week marks the Bruins' 37th time competing at the Southwestern Invitational in the tournament's 45-year history. UCLA has been attending the Southwestern Invitational since its beginning in 1978 when Bruin Corey Pavin won the inaugural medal by one stroke (-10, 278). Three Bruins have been crowned as individual champions four times: Corey Pavin (1978, 1981), Steve Conway (2003) and Patrick Cantlay (2011).
UCLA has captured the team title at the Southwestern Invitational on five occasions (1979, 1981, 1984, 2003 and 2018). UCLA's 1981 win by 26 strokes is the largest margin of victory in tournament history.
The Bruins' most impressive finish of last season came at the 2023 Southwestern Invitational where UCLA tied for fifth in a highly competitive field of 12 teams. Ereño and Morales both finished in the top 20. Ereño tied for ninth (-1) for his lone top-10 result of 2022-2023.
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.
Bruins at a Glimpse
UCLA's top two leaders in scoring average are Powell (69.9) and Morales (70.5). Both golfers have competed in every stroke play tournament this year. Powell, the No. 1-ranked freshman and No. 8-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 over his first four 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, coming off a runner-up placement at the Latin America Amateur Championships (-8) in Panama City, Panama last week, 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.
Providing stability in the middle of UCLA's lineup are An and Ereño. An is averaging 72.4 strokes over nine rounds in his sophomore campaign, highlighted by a t-11th spot at the Hamptons Intercollegiate.
UCLA in the "Scoreboard" Individual Rankings
No. 8 Luke Powell
No. 28 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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