GoldenApril 14, 2013
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - No. 1 Cal (350-361-340 - 1051, +1) won for the ninth time in 11 tournaments this season after a third and final round of 10-under par Sunday at the Western Intercollegiate that head coach Steve Desimone claimed "was certainly one of the best and maybe the best ever" in school history.
"This was a tremendous team win, and it's been that way all year," Desimone said. "It certainly sets us up well for the Pac-12 Championship."
Cal will attempt to equal the unofficial NCAA record of 10 victories in a season by the 1985-86 Oklahoma State team in its next event April 29 - May 1 at the Pac-12 Championship hosted by UCLA at the Los Angeles Country Club North Course.
"That has a nice ring to it," Desimone said about the team being one victory away from the NCAA record. "I know I can handle it and the guys can too, but let's not forget the real prize is June 2 [NCAA Championship]. Maybe we can combine the two. How sweet would that be?"
"It's just wow, I guess," said Max Homa, the team's lone senior in the lineup. "I don't really even know how to put it into words, but it's been a lot of hard work. You could kind of see it coming after last year but the way everyone's played when the lights were on and when we really needed to play well is amazing. Today was a perfect testament. We were down nine, and we probably had one of the best rounds I've ever seen by a team. We just step it up when we need to."
The performance Sunday turned a nine-point deficit at the start of the day to second-round leader UCLA (341-361-362 - 1064, +14) into a 13-shot win over the second-place Bruins. Cal won the event hosted by San Jose State at the par-70, 6,615 yard Pasatiempo Golf Club for the second time in its 67-year history and first since 1950.
"I couldn't ask for anything more, not just the way the guys played today but also yesterday when conditions got really tough and they hung in there," Desimone said. "They kept us close enough for us to make the run we made today."
Cal had three players finish in the top 10 and four in the top 20, while all six Golden Bears in the lineup were in the top 30 in a six, count-five scoring format for the tournament that featured five of the nation's top-10 ranked teams.
Homa (67-73-66 - 206, -4) and Michael Kim (67-73-66 - 206, -4) moved up five spots each to tie for second two strokes behind individual medalist Pedro Figueiredo of UCLA (65-71-68 - 204, -6).
True freshmen James Yoon (71-72-67 - 210, E) rose 10 spots to tie for seventh in the best finish of his collegiate career that was capped by his three-under par 67 on Sunday. Brandon Hagy (73-72-71 - 216, +6) moved up 12 spots to tie for 19th, while Joël Stalter (76-71-70 - 217, +7) rose 18 spots to tie for 23rd and Walker Huddy (72-75-71 - 218, +8) rose 12 positions into a tie for 29th.
All six Cal players in the lineup had their best round of the tournament Sunday with the round by Homa a season best and the rounds by Yoon and Huddy the best in their collegiate careers.
"Everybody played great today," Kim said.
Kim was in the hunt for his fifth individual medalist title of the season until late in the day when Figueiredo made birdie on 17 and Kim missed his birdie putt on the same hole in an attempt to stay a single stroke back. Kim's round included an eagle on the par-five ninth and a birdie on the par-five 13th, as well as a trio of par-three birdies on the third, fifth and 15th holes. He also had bogeys on the par-four second and par-three eighth.
Homa played a bogey-free round that he both started and ended with birdies on the par-four first and par-three 18th holes. He also had par-five birdies on the sixth and ninth holes. His birdie on six was his third on the hole in as many rounds.
Yoon matched Kim's eagle on nine and got to four-under for the day and one-under for the tournament after subsequent birdies on the par-four 11th and par-five 13th. He fell back into the black for the tournament with bogeys on the par-four 14th and 16th holes but rebounded with a birdie on 18 to finish at even-par for the tournament.
Hagy had an up-and-down day that included five birdies (4, 8, 10, 13, 18), four bogeys (1, 2, 5, 12) and a double bogey (16).
Stalter started on the second hole and got to four-under for the day and three-over for the tournament in a hurry with birdies on four of his first eight holes (2, 4, 7, 9). But he would eventually give all four shots back with bogeys on 10 and 13, and a double bogey on the first hole to conclude his round.
Huddy began his round with a birdie before a bogey on six and a double bogey on seven put him back in the black. He would birdie nine, bogey 12 and birdie 13 for his final score.
Cal was playing without regular lineup member Michael Weaver for the second straight event. Weaver is expected to rejoin the lineup for the Pac-12 Championships after missing the last two events of the regular season (ASU Thunderbird Invitational, Western Intercollegiate) to prepare for and become the first current Cal golfer to ever play in the Masters.
Cal has won its nine tournaments in 2012-13 by a combined total of 135 strokes and has a record of 149-3-1 against all opponents in its fields. Cal has also won 15 of its last 25 events overall dating back to the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign and finished in the top five in all 25.
Western Intercollegiate (hosted by San Jose State State)
Santa Cruz, Calif. - Pasatiempo Golf Club (par-70, 6,615 yards)
FINAL TEAM LEADER BOARD (after 2 of 2 days/3 of 3 rounds/54 of 54 holes)
1. Cal (350-361-340 - 1051, +1)
2. UCLA (341-361-362 - 1064, +14)
3. Stanford (351-366-364 - 1081, +31)
4. Washington (358-370-357 - 1085, +35)
5. San Diego State (349-369-372 - 1090, +40)
6. USC (351-373-376 - 1100, +50)
7. San Jose State (351-380-370 - 1101, +51)
8. Oregon (373-364-368 - 1105, +55)
9. Arizona State (366-373-367 - 1106, +56)
10. Denver (358-372-385 - 1115, +65)
T11. Fresno State (361-375-382 - 1118, +68)
T11. UC Irvine (361-381-376 - 1118, +68)
13. UTEP (368-384-369 - 1121, +71)
T14. Hawai'i (361-381-381 - 1123, +73)
FINAL PLAYER LEADER BOARD - INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST (after 2 of 2 days/3 of 3 rounds/54 of 54 holes)
1. Pedro Figueiredo (UCLA) 65-71-68 - 204 (-6)
FINAL PLAYER LEADER BOARD - CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 2 of 2 days/3 of 3 rounds/54 of 54 holes)
T2. Max Homa 67-73-66 - 206 (-4)
T2. Michael Kim 67-73-66 - 206 (-4)
T7. James Yoon 71-72-67 - 210 (E)
T19. Brandon Hagy 73-72-71 - 216 (+6)
T23. Joël Stalter 76-71-70 - 217 (+7) T29. Walker Huddy 72-75-71 - 218 (+8)
