Feb. 3, 2004

Berkeley, Calif. - With a little over a round of golf left to play on Tuesday, the Golden Bears had reason to hope that if it shot another spectacular final round, it could put itself in contention to win the PING-Arizona Intercollegiate. It was not to be this time though. Cal shot a final round 298 (+14) and managed a sixth place finish at 4-over-par (276-282-298). Host Arizona won the tournament shooting 28-under-par (267-271-286), but only four out of 16 teams were under par for the tournament.

The final day was not kind to many of the teams competing at the par-71, 6,973 yard Arizona National Country club in Sabino Springs. Only two teams, Fresno State (-6) and Texas El Paso (-1) shot under par for the final round. The result was Cal, which started the day in fifth position, only moving back one place to sixth.

Peter Tomasulo had the breakout tournament many were expecting to become the norm in his final season at Cal. Tomasulo carded a final round 69 (-2) to finish tied for third place at 11-under-par (65-68-69) for the tournament. Arizona's Chris Nallen won the event at 18-under-par (63-64-68).

Jeff Hood also turned in a steady performance in the midst of escalating scores all-around him. He finished at 3-under-par (71-68-71) and tied for twelfth place.

Jesse Ruda started the tournament out hot but faded toward the end. His first round 66 (-5) put him in good position, but his final round 85 (+13), pushed him down the leaderboard. He finished tied for 60th at 12-over-par (66-74-85).

Neither Scott Carlyle nor Michael Wilson ever got their scoring going in the desert. Carlyle finished tied for 64th at 13-over-par (75-72-79), while Wilson slipped to tied for 73rd at 15-over-par (74-75-79).

Cal returns to action Feb. 18-20 at the John Burns Invitational, hosted by the University of Hawaii.

 Top Five Teams (after one round)
1. Arizona 267-271-286=824 (-28)
2. New Mexico 275-269-290=834(-18)
3. Arizona State 278-269-296=843 (-9)
4. Southern California 280-274-294=848 (-4)
5. Wake Forest 283-276-293=852 (E)
6. California 276-282-298=856 (+4)

Top Five Individuals
1. Chris Nallen, Arizona 63-64-68=195 (-18)
2. Michael Putnam, Pepperdine 68-65-67=200 (-13)
T3. Peter Tomasulo, California 65-68-69=202 (-11)
T3. Bill Haas, Wake Forest 68-64-70=202 (-11)
T3. Spencer Levin, New Mexico 70-63-69=202 (-11)


Other California Finishers
T12. Jeff Hood, 71-68-71=210 (-3)
T60. Jesse Ruda, 66-74-85=225 (+12)
T64. Scott Carlyle, 75-72-79=226 (+13)
T73. Michael Wilson, 74-75-79=228 (+15)