Oct. 26, 2010

Live Scoring

ALPHARETTA, GA - No. 11/13 Cal finished the fall portion of its 2010-11 season by taking eighth place at the U.S. Collegiate Championship that concluded Tuesday at The Golf Club of Georgia's 7,017-yard, par-72 Lakeside Course. Host Georgia Tech (271-285-280 - 836, -28) won the tournament going away, finishing a school and tournament-record 27 shots ahead of its closest competitor and Golfweek's top-ranked team UCLA (286-287-290 - 863, -1).

Cal entered the event with two consecutive tournament victories but was never in contention to make it three in a row as Georgia Tech set a tournament record with a first-round 17-under par 271 on Sunday to take a commanding 13-shot lead over the entire field and were 20 shots ahead of the Bears after the first day.

Cal (291-290-295 - 876, +12) began Tuesday's third and final round in fifth place and stayed near that spot on the leader board until struggling late in the round for the third consecutive day. The Bears finished at seven-over par for the day.

"We played pretty well on the first nine holes each of the first three rounds, but for whatever reasons we just did not play very well on the back nine," said head coach Steve Desimone. "It's hard to say why. We certainly didn't putt very well in this tournament, either, and unlike during most of the fall where we had a couple of guys each tournament that really played great we just didn't have that this tournament. We didn't play poorly, we just didn't have the `A' game we've had the last couple of months."

Georgia Tech's James White (62-70-72 - 204, -12) won individual medalist honors in a competition with a tournament-record performance that mirrored the team battle. White opened the event with a tournament record 10-under par round of 62 on Sunday to take a commanding seven-stroke lead after the first day and cruised home from there, going a combined two-under par over the final 36 holes and winning by five strokes over USC's T.J. Vogel (74-69-66 - 209, -7). Vogel posted the best round of the day and second-best of the tournament on Tuesday with a six-under par 66 that moved him up seven spots into second.

Stephen Hale (72-73-73 - 218, +2) ended up as Cal's top finisher in a tie for 17th place after his second consecutive round of one-over par, following an even-par round to open the tournament. Hale birdied the first hole Tuesday but then bogeyed two in a row and never got back to even par on the day again. He bogeyed eight to fall to two-over but immediately came back with a birdie on the ninth hole to finish his front nine with a one-over par 37. He started his back nine with a bogey on 10 but got that stroke back with a birdie on 15, adding seven pars on the back nine for an even-par 36.

Ben An (75-69-75 - 219, +3) tied for 20th in the final standings after starting the day tied for 11th. An shot a three-over par 75, primarily due to a triple-bogey seven on the par-four 16th. An birdied the par-four second hole to move to four-under for the tournament before bogeys on six and nine gave him a front nine score of one-over par 37. He stayed at one over for the day with pars on each of the first six holes on the back nine before his triple bogey. He got one shot back with a birdie on the par-five 18th.

Eric Mina (74-74-71 - 219, +3) had his best round of the tournament with a one-under par score that moved him up 13 spots to tie for 20th along with An. Mina shot a two-under par 34 on the front nine with three birdies (1, 5, 9) and a bogey (6) before giving one shot back with a bogey on 15 and eight pars during his final nine holes.

Max Homa (70-77-76 - 223, +7), who was tied for seventh after an opening-round two-under par 70, continued to fall down the leader board after shooting a four-under par 76 on Tuesday and finished tied for 33rd. Homa had dropped 22 spots with a five-over par 77 on Monday and fell another four spots Tuesday to his final position. He played the first half of the golf course in an even-par 36 with two birdies (3, 9) and two bogeys (4, 6) before suffering an additional four bogeys (10, 11, 13, 17) without a birdie on the back nine.

Michael Weaver (75-74-76 - 225, +9) tied for 44th place in the final standings. He started strong on Tuesday with a birdie on the first hole and then picked up another one on eight to go to two-under for the day. But Weaver's struggles on the back nine started with a double bogey on 11. He got one stroke back with a birdie on 12 before bogeying five of his final six holes (13, 15, 16, 17, 18).

Cal will return to action Jan. 31 - Feb. 1 with its first tournament of the spring portion of its schedule at the Arizona Intercollegiate hosted by Arizona.

"We had a great fall, winning twice and beating a number of the top teams in the country," said Desimone. "It says two or three things very clearly. We are definitely one of the best teams in the country. When you've been in the mix like we've been over the five events we played in during the fall with all the top teams, it shows you have a chance at the NCAA Championships."

"We'll take a couple of months off and work on the things we need to work on, then when we come back it will be a sprint to the finish," said Desimone. "We've got a chance to be in the mix, and I like those chances."

U.S. Collegiate Championship (hosted by Georgia Tech)
Alpharetta, GA - The Golf Club of Georgia Lakeside Course (Par 72, 7,017 yards)

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS (after 3 of 3 days/3 of 3 rounds/54 of 54 holes)
1. Georgia Tech (271-285-280 - 836, -28)
2. UCLA (286-287-290 - 863, -1)
3. Texas A&M (284-286-296 - 866, +2)
4. USC (288-279-300 - 867, +3)
5. Virginia (289-293-288 - 870, +6)
6. Wake Forest (300-291-280 - 871, +7)
7. Duke (292-290-290 - 872, +8)
8. Cal (291-290-295 - 876, +12)
T9. Kent State (294-301-294 - 889, +25)
T9. Florida State (298-298-293 - 889, +25)
11. Washington (301-293-300 - 894, +30)
12. Clemson (303-300-302 - 905, +41)
13. East Tennessee State (300-302-305 - 907, +43)
14. Georgia State (309-304-296 - 909, +45)
15. South Carolina (305-302-312 - 919, +55)

TOURNAMENT INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST (after 3 of 3 days/3 of 3 rounds/54 of 54 holes)
1. James White (Georgia Tech) 62-70-72 - 204 (-12)

CAL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
T17. Stephen Hale 72-73-73 - 218 (+2)
T20. Ben An 75-69-75 - 219 (+3)
T20. Eric Mina 74-74-71 - 219 (+3)
T33. Max Homa 70-77-76 - 223 (+7)
T44. Michael Weaver 75-74-76 - 225 (+9)