UCLA wins dramatic Battle at the Beach

Courtesy UCLA athletics

UCLA freshman Pontus Widegren lead the Bruins to a victory Feb. 16 at the Battle at the Beach.

Scores

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Freshman Pontus Widegren sparked a final-day rally – and more importantly a late-round charge – to lead UCLA to its first victory of the season Tuesday at the Battle at the Beach at Pelican Bay Resort’s Ocean North Course.

The inaugural event, co-hosted by Long Beach State and UCLA, certainly lived up to its name. The leaders, both team and individual, were like a revolving door over the final 18 holes.

The Bruins eked out a thrilling one-shot victory over Arkansas and Washington. UCLA, with a closing 7-under 348 in the play-six-count-five format, finished at 10-under 1,410.

Arkansas, runner-up at the 2009 NCAA Championship, made things interesting with the best round of the tournament – a 9-under 346 – while Washington closed with a 352. Oregon State, which along with the top three teams held first place at times, finished fourth in the 14-team field at 5-under 1,060, 10 shots better than San Diego State.

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Battle at the Beach - Take 5 (Rd. 3)

The college kids take over for the last Take 5 from the Battle at the Beach. Hey, Richard Lee . . . nice hole-in-one.

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The individual leaderboard was just as crowded before Arkansas senior David Lingmerth and Washington freshman Chris Williams emerged as co-champions at 8-under 205. Lingmerth closed with 7-under 64 while Williams, the second-round leader, finished with 71. It was the first collegiate victory for both players.

Sharing third place at 7-under 206 were Widegren (64) and Oregon State’s Diego Velasquez (65), a first-round co-leader, and Arkansas’ Jamie Marshall (65). Rounding out the all-tournament team was Ryan Peterson of Colorado State (69) and Mike Barry of Oregon State (72) at 6-under 207.

And how about this for the marquee foursome of the day? The quartet of Lingmerth and Marshall of Arkansas and Widegren and Gregor Main (70) of UCLA combined to shoot 21 under on a sunny, warm day along the Pacific Coast.

Williams and Lingmerth took different routes to their first-place finishes. Lingmerth traveled the course mistake-free, making seven birdies without a bogey. Williams, meanwhile, made four birdies and four bogeys.

For Williams, who didn’t qualify for Washington’s spring opening tournament in Hawaii, it was a memorable week.

“The golf course played a lot tougher today,” Williams said. “The pins were tucked and the greens were a lot quicker and firmer. I was a little tense starting out (he made three bogeys after an opening birdie in his first nine holes), but then settled down (he made three birdies and one bogey his last eight holes).

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UCLA’s Freeman talks Battle at the Beach title

UCLA coach Derek Freeman recaps his team’s thrilling victory at the Battle at the Beach.

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“It was an awesome week and a lot of fun,” Williams said. “I came in here just trying for a high finish. To win, I honestly can’t tell you how I’m feeling now and what it means. All I know is it’s a great way to start the spring season and hopefully I can keep it going the rest of the way.”

Williams, at 8 under, held a one-shot lead over Barry through the first six holes. Four others stood at 5 under. When he made the turn, Williams was at 6 under and, along with Lingmerth, a stroke behind Barry, who ended up closing with a 1-over 72. Five others were at 4 under.

With three holes left to play, five players stood at 6 under and another four were at 5 under. But Lingmerth and Williams made some birdies down the stretch and separated from the field.

UCLA trailed throughout the front nine, as Washington and Oregon State battled back and forth for the top spot and Arkansas kept making its charge.

At one point, the Razorbacks took the lead at 8 under, a shot better than Oregon State, with UCLA at 6 under and Washington at 5 under.

Then the Bruins made their big charge.

Over a seven-hole stretch, Widegren birdied Nos. 7, 8, 10 and 11 and then made eagle at the par-4 13th. Connor Driscoll, the team’s elder statesman as a junior, birdied two of his last five holes and Main had a pair of birdies over his final six.

“It was a fight to the finish, that’s for sure,” said UCLA coach Derek Freeman. “It was so exciting. You really never knew who was in the lead and who wasn’t.

“I’m just so happy for our guys. We have a young team (no seniors on the roster), so to come out and win this, against a very good field (six teams in top 30 and nine in top 60) is huge for us. It’s just so rewarding when you get to see the fruits or your hard work pay off.”

In addition to some of the outstanding scores, the final day was highlighted by a pair of holes-in-one.

Washington’s Richard Lee notched the first when he aced the 152-yard 16th hole hitting a “three-quarter 8-iron.” The ball took once bounce and disappeared.

A short time later, Colorado State’s Bryce Hanstad aced at the 175-yard sixth hole with a wedge shot.