California
Pac-12 Championships
4/29/2013 12:00 PM | Men's Golf
April 29, 2013
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Twitter TriviaLOS ANGELES, Calif. - No. 1 Cal (338-357 - 695, -5) has a nine-shot lead over second-place and host No. 3 UCLA (346-358 - 704, +4) after the opening day of the 2013 Pac-12 Championship. The Golden Bears' performance was highlighted by Max Homa (61-70 - 131, -9), who has a three-shot lead on teammate Michael Weaver (65-69 - 134, -6) and broke the course record in the opening round with a nine-under par 61 at the par-70, 7,236-yard North Course at the Los Angeles Country Club.
"I went out there with a good mentality today," Homa said. "I just looked to have fun and enjoy one of the best courses in the country. The individual lead is great and the record is awesome, but I'm really focused on the team lead. We dug deep to lead UCLA on one of its home courses."
Cal had the best team score during each of the two rounds, including a 12-under par 338 over the opening 18 holes that helped them open an eight-stroke advantage. UCLA closed the advantage to three shots at one point on the back nine of the second round before struggling on tough holes down the stretch.
"It was a great day," head coach Steve Desimone said. "We have the lead, and it looks like it is by a few more shots than when we left the golf course. My goal was to finish the day in a good spot, and I think we finished in a really good spot."
Homa led Cal in the opening round by carding nine birdies and playing bogey-free golf in the lowest round of his collegiate career that also equaled the nation's best round this season. Homa capped his round with four consecutive birdies on holes No. 14 through No. 17. He birdied two par-five holes (No. 1, No. 14), four par-fours (No. 5, No. 12, No. 16, No. 17) and three par-threes (No. 7, No. 9, No. 15). Homa started his second round with a birdie on the first hole for the second time to get to 10-under for the tournament. He gave three strokes back with bogeys on the par-four third, par-three fourth and par-four sixth. Homa would get those strokes back with birdies on the par-five eighth, par-four 10th and 14th, the latter for the second straight round. He bogeyed the 17th hole to return to nine-under for the day and even-par for his second round.
"Anytime you have a round like Max did on a golf course like this you were doing everything right," Desimone said. "He just hit so many good shots and his putter was working. When you play like Max did this morning it just doesn't get any better than what he did especially on a great golf course like L.A. North."
Weaver matched Homa's four-under par 31 on his first nine holes with birdies on the first, fourth, eighth and ninth holes. The lone bogey of his first round came on the par-three 11th holes before birdies on the 14th and 17th propelled him to a season-low round of five-under par 65 that was one off the best of his collegiate career. Weaver was also on fire on the front nine again during his second trip around the course, equaling the four-under par 31 he shot in the opening round. He birdied the first, fourth and eighth holes for the second consecutive round and added another on the sixth. He had one more birdie (par-four No. 13) but also four bogeys (No. 11, No. 12, No. 15, par-four No. 18) during a three-over par 38 on the back nine to finish at one-under par for the round and six-under for the day.
"It's great to get off to a great start in the first two rounds," Weaver said. "We played really well and got a big lead. In the afternoon the pins were tougher and we didn't score as well but still played fine. Individually, it was nice to shoot a low round to start. I haven't had a low round all year like that so it was nice to play solid to start."
Brandon Hagy (68-76 - 144, +4) and Michael Kim (71-73 - 144, +4) are tied for 20th after Monday's opening two rounds.
Hagy was near the top of the leaderboard after his first 18 holes during a two-under par round that included four birdies (No. 6, No. 8, No. 15, No. 16) and two bogeys (No. 3, No. 17). He played the first 10 holes of his second round in even par with a birdie on one and a bogey on six before making bogey on six of his last eight holes, including four in a row on No. 11 through No. 14 before adding two more on No. 16 and No. 18.
Kim, the nation's No. 1 player, could offset his nine bogeys on the day with only five birdies. His one-over par first 18 holes included four bogeys (No. 1, No. 9, No. 13, No. 15) and three birdies (No. 12, No. 16, No. 17). He had five bogeys (No. 7, No. 11, No. 12, No. 13, No. 18) and two birdies (No. 1, No. 17) during his second round.
Joël Stalter (73-72 - 145, +5) is tied for 27th. Stalter had three birdies (No. 9, No. 14, No. 15) and six bogeys (par-four No. 2, No. 10, No. 11, No. 12, No. 16, No. 18) in his opening round. Over his second 18 holes, he had two birdies (No. 1, No. 14) and three bogeys (No. 4, No. 12, No. 16, No. 17).
James Yoon (74-73 - 147, +7) is tied for 34th. The true freshman was off to a strong start in his first Pac-12 Championship at two-under par through 12 holes with three birdies (No. 2, No. 8, No. 12) and one bogey (No. 4) before hitting a rough patch with back-to-back double bogeys on the 14th and 15th holes, then adding bogeys on the 16th and 17th. Yoon was at even-par through the first 12 holes of his second round, with a birdie on the fifth hole and a bogey on the sixth, before struggling again on the final six holes but managing to play them in three-over par after playing the same holes in six-over during his opening round.
Third-place Washington (349-360 - 709, +9) is the only other squad in a field that includes five of the nation's top 11 ranked teams within 30 strokes of the defending champion Bears, who won their first conference title last season.
The teams will play third-round action Tuesday before completing the 72-hole championship with the final round Wednesday.
"With a nine-shot lead I certainly like our chances," Desimone said. "UCLA is a great team and Washington is certainly good enough to jump back in this, but I am very pleased after the first day."
Cal has won a school-record nine of 11 tournaments in 2012-13 and is only one victory shy of the unofficial NCAA season-record win total of 10 established by the 1985-86 Oklahoma State squad. Cal has won 15 of its last 25 tournaments overall dating back to the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign and finished in the top five in all 25.
Pac-12 Championship (hosted by UCLA)
Los Angeles, Calif. - Los Angeles Country Club North Course (par-70, 7,236 yards)
TEAM LEADER BOARD (after 1 of 3 days/2 of 4 rounds/36 of 72 holes)
1. Cal (338-357 - 695, -5)
2. UCLA (346-358 - 704, +4)
3. Washington (349-360 - 709, +9)
4. Stanford (366-361 - 727, +27)
5. Utah (358-371 - 729, +29)
T6. Oregon State (368-362 - 730, +30)
T6. Arizona State (368-362 - 730, +30)
T6. Colorado (370-360 - 730, +30)
9. Oregon (362-370 - 732, +32)
10. USC (368-368 - 736, +36)
11. Arizona (369-370 - 739, +39)
12. Washington State (376-379 - 755, +55)
PLAYER LEADER BOARD - INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 1 of 3 days/2 of 4 rounds/36 of 72 holes)
1. Max Homa (Cal) 61-70 - 131 (-9)
PLAYER LEADER BOARD - CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 1 of 3 days/2 of 4 rounds/36 of 72 holes)
1. Max Homa 61-70 - 131 (-9)
2. Michael Weaver 65-69 - 134 (-6)
T20. Brandon Hagy 68-76 - 144 (+4)
T20. Michael Kim 71-73 - 144 (+4)
T27. Joël Stalter 73-72 - 145 (+5)
T34. James Yoon 74-73 - 147 (+7)
