Feb. 2, 2013

Follow UCLA Athletics on Twitter | Follow UCLA Athletics on Facebook

Season Preview

The fourth-ranked UCLA men's golf program prepares this week for a pair of tournaments as the Winter/Spring schedule begins in earnest.

Five players will compete in the Amer Ani Invitational at the Waikoloa Beach Resort in Hawai'i, Feb. 6-8, and four others will play as individuals in the Cal State San Marcos tournament in Carlsbad, Feb. 4-5.

The lineup for Hawai'i features two seniors, and three underclassmen. Senior Pontus Widegren, ranked No.1 by GolfStat, leads the Bruins and the nation with a 68.0 scoring average and is 21-under par through six rounds this season. He won his second career collegiate tournament in October with a record-tying score of 198 (-18).

Sophomore Jay Hwang ranks second on the team with a scoring average of 70.8 and is seven under par through nine rounds this season. He has two Top 20 results in three starts, including a third place finish at the CS San Marcos Fall tournament. The rest of the Hawai'i lineup includes senior Pedro Figueiredo (71.8), sophomore Manav Shah (72.4) and freshman Lorens Chan (71.3), who will be returning to his home state. In four college starts, Chan has recorded a pair of Top 5 finishes, including a 54-hole score of 14-under par in October.

Participants for the CS San Marcos tournament, which begins Monday, are sophomores Preston Valder and Matt Pinizzotto and freshmen Jake Knapp and Reilly McMahon. Valder leads this group with a scoring average of 70.7 and is two-under par through nine rounds and Knapp was next at 72.3, followed by Pinizzotto at 72.5 and McMahon at 77.1.

The Amer Ani event will be played at the Waikoloa Kings Course and the CS San Marcos tournament will be played at Shadow Ridge Country Club.