April 27, 2010
Event Coverage: Team Leader Board |Player Leader Board | Wednesday's Video Webstream Broadcast | Bear Blog
TEMPE - Cal's Eric Mina stayed in contention for individual medalist honors at the 2010 Pac-10 Men's Golf Championship by firing a four-under par 67 on Tuesday and is currently in third place at 13-under par for the tournament, trailing only Arizona State's Jesper Kennegard (-17) and Stanford's Joseph Bramlett (-15) on the leader board. Heading into Wednesday's final 18 holes of the event, the Golden Bears are in ninth place in the team standings at nine-under par. Stanford is the third-round leader at 42-under par.
"I can't think too much about it," said Mina when asked about his current position. "I can't let my mind stray. I just have to play it one hole at a time and try to execute my shots perfectly."
"In Eric's case, it's `stay the course,'" added Cal head coach Steve Desimone. "He just needs to continue doing what he's done to get in this position."
Mina's round of 67 on Tuesday included five birdies and a bogey on the par-71, 7,057 ASU Karsten Golf Course. Starting on the 10th hole, he birdied three of his first seven holes (10, 14, 16) and added six pars over his first nine holes to make the turn at three-under par. He moved to four-under on the day with a birdie on hole five, before suffering his only bogey on six to move back to three-under. But he got the stroke right back when he made birdie on seven. Two of his birdies came on par-fives (10, 14), one on a par-four (5) and two on par-threes (16, 7). His bogey was also on a par-three.
Mina's 67 on Tuesday followed a career-best round of 65 in Monday's opening round and a 68 in Monday's second 18 holes. He has a current string of five consecutive rounds of 68 or better dating back to the final two rounds of the team's regular-season finale at the U.S. Intercollegiate.
"My game has been pretty solid this week," said Mina, who is attempting to become only the second Cal player to win the event in its 51-year history and the first since current PGA Tour professional Charlie Wi was a winner in 1995. "I'm really been able to stick with my game plan and not stray away from that ... If I just stay patient and play smart, I feel like anything could happen."
"I've been Eric's biggest proponent all year," offered a proud Desimone. "He has just done everything we've asked and more. He's really worked on his game, but he's also really worked on how to play the game. It's all come together this spring. He's playing well against the best players in the country. I can't say enough great things about him."
Stanford (330-345-348 - 1023, -42) has a seven-shot advantage on second-place Washington (338-352-340 - 1030, -35) after 54 holes, but the defending champion Huskies gained eight strokes on the Cardinal after firing the best round of the day at 15-under par. Host Arizona State (337-351-348 - 1036) is in third place and followed by UCLA (340-353-351 - 1044, -21), USC (340-349-356 - 1045, -20), Oregon (351-352-346 - 1049, -16), Oregon State (355-349-346 - 1050, -15), Arizona (351-358-346 - 1055, -10), Cal (347-357-352 - 1056, -9) and Washington State (361-361-359 - 1081, +16).
Michael Weaver (68-71-66 - 205, -8) also had a big day for the Bears, shooting a 66 that was the second-best round of his collegiate career and one shot better than Mina. It was almost a very big day for Weaver, who will head into the final round of action Wednesday tied for 11th but had moved as high as tied for fourth on the leader board at one point. Weaver was seven-under par for the day and 10-under for the tournament after 11 holes. He birdied the 10th hole to start his round, followed it up with birdies on 14 and 15, and then eagled the par-five 17th en route to a five-under par 32 on his first nine holes. He started his second nine with two more birdies on holes one and two, before a double-bogey on the ninth hole, his final of the day, dropped him back down the leader board.
"Michael clearly has played better and better over the last couple of weeks," said Desimone. "I felt that he would really be ready for a very strong tournament and it's no surprise that he's playing like he is. As Michael's career goes forward, we're going to see a whole lot more of this."
Brandon Hagy (66-70-74 - 210, -3) entered Tuesday's action tied for ninth but fell to a tie for 22nd after a three-over par 74 that consisted of two birdies, five bogeys and 11 pars.
Chad Vivolo (50th-T, 74-75-71 - 220), James Coré (53rd-T, 74-73-74 - 221) and Evan Derian (59th, 74-77-77 - 228, +15) are also participating in the event for the Golden Bears.
All of Cal's golfers other than Mina and Derian are playing at the Pac-10's for the first time.
"We are lacking experience in a couple of areas - both playing at the Pac-10's and playing this golf course," said Desimone. "Four of the guys are playing this golf course for the first time."
Wednesday's final round begins with tee times at 8 a.m. MST/PDT. Derian will be the first Cal player off the tee at 9:12 a.m., while Mina tees off at 9:52 a.m. Follow his quest for the title on the Bear Blog.
Pac-10 Championship (Hosted by Arizona State)
Tempe, AZ - ASU Karsten Golf Course (Par 71, 7,057 yards)
TEAM STANDINGS (after 2 of 3 days/3 of 4 rounds/54 of 72 holes)
1. Stanford (330-345-348 - 1023, -42)
2. Washington (338-352-340 - 1030, -35)
3. Arizona State (337-351-348 - 1036, -29)
4. UCLA (340-353-351 - 1044, -21)
5. USC (340-349-356 - 1045, -20)
6. Oregon (351-352-346 - 1049, -16)
7. Oregon State (355-349-346 - 1050, -15)
8. Arizona (351-358-346 - 1055, -10)
9. Cal (347-357-352 - 1056, -9)
10. Washington State (361-361-359 - 1081, +16)
TOURNAMENT LEADER (after 2 of 3 days/3 of 4 rounds/54 of 72 holes)
1. Jesper Kennegard (Arizona State) 63-66-67 - 196 (-178)
CAL INDIVIDUAL RESULTS (after 2 of 3 days/3 of 4 rounds/54 of 72 holes)
3. Eric Mina 65-68-67 - 200 (-13)
11T. Michael Weaver 68-71-66 - 205 (-8)
22T. Brandon Hagy 66-70-74 - 210 (-3)
50T. Chad Vivolo 74-75-71 - 220 (+7)
53T. James Coré 74-73-74 - 221 (+8)
59. Evan Derian 74-77-77 - 228 (+15)
