By Pauline Vu
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
When Brandon DiTullio came to UCLA, one thing all the other
golfers noticed about him was how disciplined he was.
“My freshman year he’d wake up at six every morning
and have his day planned out to the minute,” redshirt
sophomore Parker McLachlin said. “It was really amazing.
He’d know what he was going to do, have it all written
down.”
If there’s one thing that changed in his five years at
UCLA, it’s that DiTullio has mellowed out some from the
freshman who used to plan every second of his day. He’s not
quite the same guy who would push himself hard at just about
everything he did, all to achieve the success he always thought he
wanted.
It was that way with golf, too. For the longest time,
DiTullio’s golf plans centered around turning pro. Then, five
months ago, he realized one day that there was more to his life
than that.
“I found enjoyment at being the best at everything,”
the senior said. “Now I find it’s not always about
being the best at sports, at grades. It’s equally important
just to enjoy the time.”
As he leaves college, where he is consistently the No. 20 UCLA
men’s golf team’s best golfer, DiTullio has reflected
back on everything he sacrificed for the sport. He doesn’t
question whether the sacrifices were worth it. He now intends to
give more time to himself.
For one thing, it’s been years since he’s been
skiing.
“I wouldn’t go skiing because I didn’t want to
mess up my legs too much for golf,” he said.
It’s also been years since he went on a vacation.
“A couple summers ago I was gone for a month for golf,
going from tournament to tournament,” he said. “I
played pretty well, but I wasn’t clicking. I wasn’t
happy.”
With all these factors on his mind, during winter break,
DiTullio looked at the dreams of turning professional that he had
harbored for so long and decided to put them on hold.
“It was a pretty big decision,” he said. “I
gotta admit, I’m a little bit burned out as far as
sacrificing other things I do for golf.”
“To be pro, I’ve got to step it up. I’d have
to practice a lot harder and sacrifice a lot more. That’s not
where I’m at. I actually want to practice less and have a
little more fun and not feel guilty,” he continued.
Perhaps the reason DiTullio is burned out is because he
can’t do things in half measures. Mellowed out or not, he
wants to be successful at everything he tries.
“It’s an endless battle. I’ll never get away
from being that way,” he said.
Freshman golfer Travis Johnson, who was hosted by DiTullio on
his recruiting trip to UCLA last year, said DiTullio’s
attitude was part of the reason he chose to become a Bruin.
“I’ve never seen anybody so dedicated to everything
he does. He’s always on time, never misses a practice ““
he’s just the perfect role model,” he said.
You can also see that in DiTullio’s attitude toward
academics. He red-shirted the 1998-99 season to concentrate on his
business economics major and accounting minor. And during that year
he received all A’s, with the exception of two
A-‘s.
“I worked my ass off for that,” DiTullio said.
And just like his golf, it paid off. DiTullio now has a job
lined up with an accounting company and is on track to earning
Academic All-American honors.
But golf wasn’t forgotten during that redshirt year. He
still went to practice and improved his game.
“I played with the team as much as possible. I really
didn’t miss a beat,” DiTullio said.
It also gave him time to strengthen the mental aspect of his
game, which is his strength. Ask anybody who knows him and
they’ll tell you that DiTullio is the kind of guy who likes
to strategize, pick things apart, figure out why something is the
way it is.
One of his teammates, Jason Semelsberger, said that DiTullio
should be a professional explainer. Another teammate, Steve Wagner,
said that DiTullio comes up with theories on everything. No, he
doesn’t really know how the stock market works, but he has an
idea about it. No, he’s not some engineer, but he has a
theory about how airplanes fly.
“He’s analytical,” Wagner said. “He
breaks stuff down. He goes off on weird theories all the time, and
we’ll look at him and start laughing.”
By his own admission, Brandon DiTullio is the ultimate analyst,
and this goes for how things go on the green as well.
“I think my way around the course. Other golfers just let
go of the conscious mind more. I always try to strategize,”
he said. “I do less “˜see it and feel it,’ and
more “˜calculate it.'”
He doesn’t just rely on pure strength or instinct when
hitting.
“He’ll go through a golf course and out-think
it,” McLachlin said. “He won’t let the golf
course beat him.”
All that changed in his years as a Bruin was his outlook on
competition and success.
“When I first met him he was very serious. He had a hard
time lightening up and enjoying much. Now he’s realized that
that’s the funnest part,” Wagner said.
Golf is still not completely out of his life. DiTullio has
amateur status and last weekend made the first round at U.S. Open
qualifying. Only seven of the 85 people trying out made it.
But he took this success with his new lighthearted attitude.
“When I qualified, I was having fun, hanging out with my
dad. It didn’t mean the world to me,” DiTullio said.
“I tried out three or four years in a row and hadn’t
made it before. I used to get upset.”
So he might not want to give golf his all like he once did, but
his talent keeps turning pro a viable option.
And still, Wagner predicts that in 20 years, “Brandon will
be on some random beach in Mexico or the Western Samoa, just
enjoying life.”