IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine men's golf team showed glimpses of its potential during the fall, but is now looking for the consistency needed to compete for a Big West championship in 2018.
 
The tools are there as the 'Eaters have a veteran squad anchored by senior leader David Kim. Kim was tops on the team during the fall with a 71.92 stroke average. His best finish came at the Bill Cullum Invitational where he claimed runner-up honors.
 
Kim is also the reigning Big West Men's Golfer of the Year and earned an individual NCAA Regional berth in 2017. To date, he has 13 career top-10 finishes and a pair of tournament victories.
 
"David Kim had a couple good events in the fall with a second-place finish at Bill Cullum where he shot 7-under par, and then he also had a top-20 at the Stockton tournament were he finished 3-under par," said head coach Paul Smolinski, who is in his 20th year at the helm of the UCI men's golf program. "Moving forward, David playing well is going to be a big part of what we need to be successful."
 
"I think all of our players had good rounds for us during the fall, but it's just a matter of being more consistent and keeping the bad days from getting out of control," Smolinski added. "We have the potential to play much better in the spring if we can get more consistency out of the guys."
 
Seniors Ryan O'Connor and Jonathan Young are two of the Anteaters who had several impressive rounds during the 2017 portion of the schedule, closing out the fall campaign ranked second and third on the squad with averages of 74.78 and 75.33, respectively.
 
Junior Ramiz Jamal added a career-best round of 69 at the Visit Stockton Pacific Invitational, while sophomore Jonathan Kang registered a season-best 71 in the second round of the Saint Mary's Invitational. The duo played in all four fall tournaments. In addition, freshman Ray Yang made his collegiate debut at the Bill Cullum Invitational. 
 
"Usually we have a few players who have established themselves at the top, but this year it's David and then a whole bunch of guys who could step up," Smolinski stated. "There's a lot of parity and all of the guys are capable of separating themselves. We also had an injury as one of our seniors, Johnny Hyun, was out in the fall and now he's back and could provide some help."
 
UC Irvine has five tournaments before the Big West Championship at Industry Hills Golf Club, April 29-May 1. After the Waves Challenge in Somis, Calif., on Jan. 29 and 30, the 'Eaters will head to Lihue, Kaua'i, for the John A. Burns Intercollegiate (Feb. 15-17). They will also make their way to the Sacramento State Invitational (March 5-6), Western Intercollegiate in Santa Cruz (April 7-8), and the ASU Thunderbird Invitational (April 14-15).
 
"We have a great schedule where we're seeing a lot of really good teams so our guys can have the experience of seeing more of the top players in the West," Smolinski said. "Obviously we want to win the conference; we want to be in that final pairing on the final day. We're definitely capable of competing for that championship if we play our best golf, we just need to be more consistent."
 
WAVES CHALLENGE NOTES
• The 2018 Waves Challenge will be held at Saticoy Country Club in Somis, Calif., Jan. 29-30. The par-72 course will be played at 6,985 yards for the two-day tournament.

• UC Irvine's lineup for the Waves Challenge includes David Kim, Ramiz Jamal, Ryan O'Connor, Jonathan Young and Jonathan Kang.
 
• Thirty-six holes will be contested on Monday with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. The final round is then set for Tuesday with tee times at Holes 1 and 10 starting at 8 a.m.

• Live stats for all three rounds will be available at Golfstat.com.
 
• Of the 15 teams scheduled to compete at the Waves Challenge, seven are Big West members (UCI, Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, Long Beach State, UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara).  
 
• Although this is the inaugural Waves Challenge, it is the 12th time Pepperdine has hosted an event at Saticoy Country Club.