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The Los Angeles Country Club will be hosting a major for the first time, but for collegiate golfer Omar Morales, it is a place he visits often. The UCLA Bruins golfer goes to college not a mile away from the course and he has hit the opening shot for the 2023 US Open.
Omar Morales has played on the LACC around 12 times in the last two years. The UCLA Bruins get access to the prestigious course twice a month and Morales has shot a burning 66 once. Morales made the cut for the US Open after finishing on the leaderboard of the Final Qualifying at Hillcrest Country Club.
Speaking about playing at the US Open he said via Golf Channel:
“It’s a great honor. I feel very grateful for the opportunity that I have.”
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In his sophomore season at UCLA, Morales won his first title as a collegiate golfer at the El Macero Classic after shooting 67 in two consecutive rounds. UCLA Coach Armen Kirakossian spoke about the hard work that he needed to put in, in order to advance further in the field:
“To watch him play in (the Maui Jim) and see that, it was kind of revealing of what he needed to work on. And it wasn’t that he needed better skills or didn’t have the shots or didn’t have the game, he just needed to work on some composure, sticking to his game plan, being accepting of poor shots and mistakes.”
Omar Morales' journey from a collegiate golf career to first ever major start
Morales has also played on the PGA Tour's Mexico Open in April. It was his first PGA start, but the amateur golfer missed the cut by carding 74-67 in his first two rounds. Now, he tees it up once again at the all-the-more familiar LACC. Speaking about the course, he said:
“It’s just a great championship golf course. It’s very demanding in every single aspect of the game, it’s just a cool course, overall. I’m just super-pumped, super-excited; I need to calm myself down a little bit.”
His coach Armen Kirakossian will be on the bag this week for Omar Morales at the US Open. The young golfer will be looking for a strong finish in the first major start of his career.
