Zoe Antoinette Campos has stolen headlines in Westwood since 2021.

A two-time WGCA First Team All-American. A two-time All-Pac-12 First Team member. A two-time Golfweek First Team All-American – and the accolades continue for Campos.

But for the first time in fouryears, the Bruins will have to adjust to life without its stalwart at the helm.

UCLA women’s golf will kick off its spring season at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes Estates, California, at the Palos Verdes Golf Club starting Sunday. The three-day tournament will be the Bruins’ first in three months – and first since Campos retired from collegiate golf to play professionally.

“It’s very difficult to replace a player at the caliber of Zoe,” said senior Caroline Canales. “There’s a reason that she turned pro early. She’s at that level, and obviously, she was a huge, huge part of the team.”

The tournament, hosted by Ohio State, features six AP top-25 teams, including No. 3 USC, No. 4 South Carolina and No. 5 Texas.

“I’m always looking forward to see how we compare to teams that also work very hard,” said junior Meghan Royal. “I would always say that USC and Stanford are our biggest competitors.”

The weekend will bring a variety of weather for the Bruins – from sun to a chance of rain Tuesday.

The start of last year’s tournament was pushed a day because of storm concerns, with the practice round being replaced by the tournament’s first round. However, based on this year’s forecast, competition is expected to remain as scheduled.

Similarly, last season, the 54-hole stroke play was cut short and switched to a match-play event – but this year should remain as a stroke play setup.

Seniors Natalie Vo and Canales competed in the Therese Hession Regional last season. Canales, who boasts three top-20 finishes this season, won two of her three individual rounds. Vo lost one round, won one and tied her final.

“There’s a lot of slope on the course,” Canales said. “You’re hitting a lot of shots off of uneven lines into very small greens, and usually, it’s pretty cold and soggy down there. I’ve literally never played that course, not in the rain.”

Sunday will also be freshman Maye Huang’s collegiate debut after enrolling at UCLA at the start of winter quarter. When she signed with the Bruins in November, Huang was ranked 26th by the American Junior Golf Association and is now 660th in the most recent World Amateur Golf Rankings.

The freshman and the returning seniors will be joined by sophomore Jennifer Seo and Royal.

After transferring from Arkansas, Royal was an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention following her first season as a Bruin. She qualified for the Bruins’ five-person lineup at three of the five tournaments in fall season.

“I’ve seen a lot of growth, actually, from the girls,” said coach Alicia Um Holmes. “In the short time since Zoe’s been absent from the team, they seem to be taking more ownership of what they’re doing and maybe, feeling a little bit more responsible.”

An unfamiliar era featuring a Campos-less Bruins kicks off Sunday at 9 a.m.