Bruins in Scottsdale for NCAA Championships
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NCAA Championship
Friday, May 21 - Wednesday, May 26
Scottsdale, Ariz.
Grayhawk Golf Club
FRIDAY, MAY 21 (ROUND 1 OF STROKE PLAY)
7:36 a.m. - 10th Tee - Paired With Arizona and Michigan
SATURDAY, MAY 22 (ROUND 2 OF STROKE PLAY)
12:36 p.m. - 1st Tee - Paired With Arizona and Michigan
SUNDAY, MAY 23 (ROUND 3 OF STROKE PLAY - TOP 15 TEAMS ADVANCE FOLLOWING 54 HOLES)
Based on 36-Hole Results - Split Tee Times Starting at 6:30 a.m.
MONDAY, MAY 24 (FINAL ROUND OF STROKE PLAY - TOP 8 TEAMS ADVANCE TO MATCH PLAY)
Based on 54-Hole Results - Split Tee Times Starting at 10 a.m.
Live Golf Channel Television Coverage Starts at 2 p.m.
TUESDAY, MAY 25 (MATCH PLAY QUARTERFINALS - SEEDS BASED ON 72-HOLE TEAM SCORES)
6:20 a.m. - No. 2 Seed vs. No. 7 Seed - 1st Tee; No. 3 Seed vs. No. 6 Seed - 10th Tee
7:10 a.m. - No. 1 Seed vs. No. 8 Seed - 1st Tee; No. 4 Seed vs. No. 5 Seed - 10th Tee
Live Golf Channel Television Coverage Starts at 9 a.m.
TUESDAY, MAY 25 (MATCH PLAY SEMIFINALS)
12:45 p.m. - No. 2/7 Seed Winner vs. No. 3/6 Seed Winner
1:35 p.m. - No. 1/8 Seed Winner vs. No. 4/5 Seed Winner
Live Golf Channel Television Coverage Starts at 2 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, MAY 26 (MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP)
1:35 p.m. - Match Play Semifinal Winners
Live Golf Channel Television Coverage Starts at 2 p.m.
BRUINS IN SCOTTSDALE FOR NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
The UCLA women's golf team begins its quest for a fourth NCAA Championship this weekend, beginning on Friday with the first of four rounds of stroke play at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.
This marks the sixth year under the new format, which features four rounds of stroke play and three rounds of match play to determine the national champion. The 24-team field will face 18 holes of stroke play on both Friday (May 21), Saturday (May 22) and Sunday (May 23) before the field is trimmed to 15. Then on Monday, May 24, the top eight teams from those 15 will advance to the match play portion.
Play on Tuesday, May 25 will feature the match play quarterfinals in the morning and the semifinals in the afternoon, with the last two teams standing squaring off for the NCAA Championship on Wednesday afternoon (May 26).
GOLF CHANNEL TELEVISION COVERAGE
Golf Channel will have wall-to-wall coverage of the NCAA Championship, starting on Monday with the final round of stroke play at 2 p.m. On Tuesday, the Golf Channel will air the match play quarterfinals beginning at 9 a.m. and the match play semifinals starting at 2 p.m. Full 18-hole coverage of the match play championship will begin at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.
THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS FIELD
Joining the 21st-ranked Bruins in the 24-team field are No. 1 South Carolina, No. 2 Duke, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 5 Ole Miss, No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 8 USC, No. 9 Florida State, No. 10 Arizona State, No. 11 Georgia, No. 12 Baylor, No. 13 Oregon, No. 14 Virginia Tech, No. 15 Auburn, No. 16 Kent State, No. 17 Texas, No. 20 Maryland, No. 22 Arizona, No. 23 Michigan, No. 26 Alabama, No. 28 Kentucky and No. 30 Michigan State.
SEASON TEAM SUMMARY
UCLA is coming off one of its best team rounds of the 2021 season in the final round of the NCAA Louisville Regional (May 10-12), tying for second. After opening with a 3-over 291 and sitting in second place, the Bruins fell out of a Top 6 spot following a 7-over 295 in round two. UCLA rebounded though with a 1-over 289 on the final day to finish at 11-over 875 and just three strokes out of first place.
The Bruins' best full-field events have been the Silverado Showdown (April 5-7), where they were solo second (+4, 868) and the Lamkin Invitational (Feb. 8-9), where they tied for second (+40, 904). UCLA was second at the three-team Match in the Desert, recording its only under-par round of the season, a 5-under 283 in round one. The Bruins also placed fifth at the Sun Devil Winter Classic (Feb. 15-17), tied for fifth at the Pac-12 Championship (April 23-25) and sixth at the Bruin Wave Invitational (March 1-3).
EMMA SPITZ
Sophomore Emma Spitz will be the anchor leg for the Bruins on Friday, as she is coming off a win at the NCAA Louisville Regional. After opening with a 1-over 73, she finished with rounds of 5-under 67 (season low) and 4-under 68 to win by five shots. The victory was the second of Spitz's career (2020 Bruin Wave Invitational) and her first solo win. The triumph also marked the third time in a row a Bruin had been a medalist at Regionals, as Patty Tavatanakit won in '18 and '19, with her and Spitz all finishing at 8-under 208 in those three seasons.
Spitz, a Top 10 finalist for the ANNIKA Award, an All-Pac-12 First Team selection and a member of the International squad for next month's Arnold Palmer Cup, has been the top finisher for the Bruins in six of eight events. She has placed in the Top 4 all six of those times, finishing second at the Sun Devil Winter Classic (-6, 210) thanks to three under-par rounds, including an opening, 3-under 69. Spitz tied for second at the Lamkin Invitational (-1, 215), shooting a pair of 2-under 70s, tied for third at The Match in the Desert (E, 144) and the Silverado Showdown (-2, 214) and was solo fourth at the Bruin Wave Invitational (+7, 223). Spitz also tied for third at the Augusta National Women's Amateur and tied for 10th at the Pac-12 Championship (+1, 214), opening with a pair of 3-under 68s. She holds a 71.8 scoring average, with 13 of her 23 rounds being under par.
Spitz was an ANNIKA Award finalist, and a WGCA and Golfweek First Team All-American as a freshman, leading UCLA in scoring average (71.4). She had six Top 10s in eight starts, 11 under-par rounds and six in the 60s.
EMILIE PALTRINIERI
Sophomore Emilie Paltrinieri is coming off her best finish since the start of the season, as she tied for 12th at the NCAA Louisville Regional (+1, 217). She was tied for first after the opening round following a season-low, 4-under 68, closing with a 1-under 71. Paltrinieri, who has a 75.2 scoring average and five under-par rounds, tied for 10th at the Lamkin Invitational (+9, 225), tied for seventh at The Match in the Desert (+4, 148), where she opened with a 2-under 70, and tied for 19th at the Sun Devil Winter Classic (+6, 222). Paltrinieri had two under-par rounds to start the PING/ASU Invitational (+1, 217), shooting a 1-under 71 and a 2-under 70, tying for 17th.
Paltrinieri was a Third Team WGCA All-American and an Honorable Mention Golfweek All-American as a freshman, posting a 72.4 scoring average, three Top 10s and five Top 20s in six events.
ANNABEL WILSON
Sophomore Annabel Wilson, who has a 74.1 scoring average, has a stretch of three Top 10s in her last four events, tying for second at the PING/ASU Invitational (-4, 212), tying for fifth at the Silverado Showdown (E, 216) and tying for seventh at the Pac-12 Championship (-1, 212). Five of her six under-par rounds this season came in those three events, as she had bookend, 2-under 70s at the PING/ASU, a final-round, 2-under 70 at Silverado and a 1-under 70 and 3-under 68 to close out the Pac-12s. Wilson, who also shot a 2-under 70 in her opening round of the season at The Match in the Desert, where she tied for seventh, has also finished tied for 11th at the Sun Devil Winter Classic (+3, 219) and 17th at the Lamkin Invitational (+12, 228).
Wilson's best finish as a freshman was a solo seventh showing at the Bruin Wave Invitational. She recorded a 73.5 scoring average in seven events and four under-par rounds.
SIMAR SINGH
Junior Simar Singh produced her best full-field showing at the Pac-12 Championship, where she tied for 27th (+12, 225), including a season-low, 1-over 72 to open the tournament. Singh has a scoring average of 77.8, tying for 31st at the Silverado Showdown (+11, 227) and finishing 33rd at the Lamkin Invitational (+20, 236).
After transferring from Oregon, Singh played in two events as a sophomore, tying for 43rd at the Stanford Intercollegiate, which included a 1-under 70 in the second round.
YUKI YOSHIHARA
Sophomore Yuki Yoshihara will be playing in her sixth event of the season at the NCAA Championship. Her best showing of the year was a tied for third finish at the Silverado Showdown (-2, 214), as she opened with a 2-under 70 and closed with back-to-back, even-par 72s. Yoshihara also tied for 42nd at the Pac-12 Championship. She has a 75.7 scoring average.
Yoshihara appeared in five tournaments as a freshman, with her best finishing being a T-18 at the Golfweek Conference Challenge, which included a 2-under 70 in her final round.
PHOEBE YUE
Sophomore Phoebe Yue will serve as UCLA's alternate for the NCAA Championship. She has played in six events, with her best full-field finish being a T-52 at the Bruin Wave Invitational.
Yue played in three events last season, tying for 41st at the Bruin Wave Invitational.
HISTORY AT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
UCLA has won three NCAA Championships (2011 in Bryan, Texas; 2004 in Auburn, Ala.; 1991 in Columbus, Ohio). The last two triumphs have come under current head coach Carrie Forsyth, with the 1991 title hoisted under the late Jackie Steinmann. The best finish for a UCLA player at the NCAA Championship came in 2008 when Tiffany Joh tied for first, however, she lost the individual title in a playoff. The Bruins also have a trio of third-place individual finishes (1996, Kathy Choi; Susie Mathews, 2004; Amie Cochran, 2005, T-3).
In their 26 previous trips to the NCAA Championships, the Bruins have finished the stroke play portion in the Top 8 on 20 occasions (1st - 5 times; 2nd - 4 times; 3rd - 2 times; 4th - 2 times; 5th - 4 times; 6th - 2 times; 8th - 1 time).