On the weekend of March 31, 2025, the University of California, Riverside’s (UCR) men’s golf team, consisting of Hartej Grewal, Von Wasson, Liam Hartling, Stephen Luo, and Chanhee Ryu, ventured up north to Seattle University (Seattle U) for a tournament at the renowned Chambers Bay Golf Course, which hosted the 2015 U.S. Open.
After a hard-fought three rounds of golf, the Highlanders collectively shot even-par and emerged as champions of the Seattle U Redhawk Invitational following a one-hole playoff battle against St. Thomas University. Following their triumph at Seattle U, the team traveled to sunny Santa Barbara for the Gaucho Invitational, in which they placed fourth place.
In speaking to the players about their performances at Seattle U and UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), Grewal stated that his mindset was to go in and win both tournaments. Although he performed better at the Seattle U where he finished 3rd individually, he still performed to the best of his ability at Santa Barbara, placing 12th.
Wasson, who hails from Centralia, Washington, had the backing of family and friends fueling his determination on the course.
Hartling reflected that at the Seattle U tournament, the team played strong throughout, but at UCSB, they struggled on their first day. Yet the Highlanders stayed resilient and confident to battle their way back to fourth place.
The Redhawk Invitational and Gaucho Invitational took place within a week of one another, and Luo expressed that back-to-back tournaments can be a challenge for the players.
As a first-year coach, Coach Ryan Carter shared that the most rewarding part of this experience has been seeing how the players have progressed and grown over the past few months. He noted, “consistency and committing to a plan, then executing it,” is a huge factor in the success of the players’ game.
By treating the fall as a testing period, Carter revealed that his goals have shifted as the season progressed. Since then, he has made some “personnel changes within the line up,” as the program “unfortunately lost a couple of players.” However, as the season has progressed, the players have grown stronger and show no signs of slowing down.
At the moment, he mentions that the team is in it to win: “It is not a goal, it is an expectation.” His target is to win three to four times a year at least. Coach Carter went on to expand on how his goal is to transform the team into a top 50 program within the next two years.
At the time of publication, UCR ranks 152 nationally in DI men’s golf. He emphasized his team’s talent by expressing, “It is just a matter of putting things together and resetting their expectations and goals as well as by calling for a stronger schedule next year.”
With the Big West Conference approaching in late April, the team is going in knowing that their biggest competitor will be the California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). Carter and his squad emphasized the importance of consistency in each player’s game going into the conference clash.
Each player mentioned a specific pro player they look up to and modeled their game after.
Grewal is inspired by Scottie Scheffler because “he does not have the standard swing a player should have; he has his own unique swing,” and Grewal similarly has his own unique swing as well. Luo also admires Scottie Scheffler but for another reason: “In golf, you have to have a positive attitude,” and when Luo watches Scheffler play, he respects the way his persevering attitude makes him the exceptional player he is.
Wasson and Ryu mentioned they idolize 15-time major champion, Tiger Woods, and how he’s influenced the game of golf. “He’s the best golfer ever … we all want to be the best. I haven’t gotten a win yet and Tiger Woods wins,” Wasson expressed as he finished tied-25th at Chambers Bay.
Hartling draws inspiration from the lefty, Phil Mickelson, who possesses great touch around the greens and has a knack for creating great escape shots. Hartling likes to channel his ‘inner Mickelson’ to get out of tricky situations.
Sharing their pre-round regime, many of the players revealed that they enjoy listening to artists such as Drake, Playboi Carti, Eminem and Billie Eilish.
However, Wasson prefers not to listen to music. He likes to listen to the club hit the ball, as it helps him dial in mentally. Wasson treats tournaments like every other round, and by doing so, it keeps him from overthinking and allows him to play his best golf.
Grewal shared that he strives to stay calm and is confident in his game. He goes on to say that the biggest motivator for him is believing in himself and having self-love to play up to his potential.
Luo knows that his team will stand by him, and that gives him mental clarity when going into a round. Meditation also plays a big role in his preparation; he meditates for one minute or so before playing.
As the team travels to the La Quinta Country Club on April 27, 2025, they look to bring the Big West Championship back to Riverside.
