Sept. 1, 2011

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The UCLA men's golf team will begin the 2011-12 season ranked No.1 in the Coaches poll, GolfWorld announced this week. UCLA is the first school to earn the preseason No.1 ranking in both men's and women's golf in the history of the GolfWorld Coaches' Poll.

Led by the world's No.1 ranked amateur, sophomore Patrick Cantlay, the Bruins earned the top preseason billing for the first time since the 2008-09 season. UCLA returns three lettermen from its 2011 NCAA fivesome, plus three other players who earned varsity letters. In addition, the Bruins signed three local players who will begin their college careers later this month.

Cantlay has enjoyed a sensational summer, finishing among the Top 25 in four professional events, including a tie for 21st at the U.S. Open where he was the low amateur. In addition, he won the SCGA Amateur Championship in July and was the runner-up in the U.S. Amateur last weekend. Finally, he and nine other top American amateurs will represent the United States in the Walker Cup Matches later this month in Scotland.

Teammates Alex Shi Yup Kim, Pontus Widegren, Pedro Figueiredo, Anton Arboleda, Mario Clemens and Bobby Lange have also been busy this summer. Kim and Arboleda played in the U.S. Amateur, and Kim tied for seventh at the SCGA Amateur. Aboleda won the SCGA Match Play Championship in August. Both Widegren and Figueiredo have been playing in Europe this summer and Clemens and Lange have played locally.

The Bruins' begin the season, Oct. 10-11 at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational in Columbus, OH.

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