Ka’imi Fairbairn has waited three years, but on Saturday, UCLA’s senior kicker finally hit from 50-plus yards out.

Just before the Bruins ran back into the locker room, the 6-foot, 190-pound Hawaii native lined up for a 53-yard field goal attempt — the second-longest of his career.

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As the ball sailed through the air, more than a few of the 80,000 fans in the Rose Bowl likely flashed back to his past missteps. The infamous 52-yard try from the left hash against Stanford in the 2012 Pac-12 Championship. The 50-yarder that fell short in last year’s 30-28 loss to Utah. The misses from 55 and 50 yards, ones that came in comfortable wins over Virginia and Nebraska.

Unlike those, this one went in, cutting Arizona State’s lead to 15-10 at the break.

“It was one of those ‘finally’ moments,” Fairbairn said Tuesday. “You’re just like, ‘Thank God, it went in — finally!’ I was glad to get it done for my teammates, going into halftime feeling good.”

Although the field goal didn’t make much of a difference in the No. 20 Bruins’ 38-23 loss, it was an important For all his success closer in, — 34 consecutive field goals from within 35 yards — Fairbairn has also long struggled on his tougher tries. He hovered below .500 on career attempts from at least 40 yards away. The 53-yarder on Saturday moved him to 13 of 25.

Perhaps there were hints along the way. Last year, Fairbairn was given the Captain Don Brown Award at the team’s year-end banquet, honoring him as the most improved player on special teams. He made the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Award. John Lee’s school-record 390 career points may be out of reach, but with 348, Fairbairn is only three field goals away from tying Kai Forbath and Justin Medlock at No. 2.

“I think it’s just mentally, honestly,” Fairbairn said. “Going out there and not being fazed by the distance. Kicking the same kick every time. When you’re young, you kind of think about it. You look at where you’re at on the field, and you say, ‘Oh, I’ve got to kick it a little bit harder.’ This year, it’s not like that.”