April 5, 2013
TEMPE, Ariz. - No. 1 Cal (284, E) is tied for fourth and eight shots off the lead of No. 3 New Mexico (276, -8) following the first round of action Friday at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational. The Golden Bears returned to action after nearly four weeks off during spring break and are also playing without Michael Weaver as he travels to Augusta, where he will become the first current Cal golfer to ever play at the Masters next week.
"It could have been much worse," head coach Steve Desimone said. "If we follow our usual trend, we'll play better tomorrow, and we'll worry about Sunday after tomorrow. We're certainly within striking distance, but we'll have to play really well to catch New Mexico. They are a great team, one of the two teams that have beaten us so far this year and they would certainly like to make that two. We're in no hurry for that to happen."
Cal was paced by the nation's No. 1 player Michael Kim, who is tied for sixth after his opening-round two-under par 69 has put him five shots behind first-round leader Nick Chianello of Oregon State, who shot a seven-under 64. Kim played the back nine in three-under par with three birdies and six pars, making birdie on the par-five 10th and par-four 11th to start the stretch and adding another on the par-five 14th. On the front nine, he started with five consecutive pars before two bogeys and a birdie over the next four holes, including a bogey on the par-three sixth, a birdie on the par-three seventh and a bogey on the par-four ninth.
"I think we were just knocking off some rust," Kim added. "We struggled a bit coming in. We just have to stay focused and play our games."
Brandon Hagy is tied for 12th after a one-under par round of 70 that included birdies on the three of his last six holes on the par-four 13th as well as the 14th and 17th, both par fives.
James Yoon is tied for 28th after a one-over par round of 72. He birdied the first two par-five holes (10, 14) on the course and also had three bogeys.
Cal trailed by as many 13 shots early in the round before cutting the margin to three strokes late in the round but a pair of tee shots hit in the water by Max Homa on the par-three 16th hole led to a quadruple bogey seven that dropped Homa and the Bears back. Homa had played the first 14 holes at four-under par including birdies on the par-four second, ninth, 11th and 13th holes, and another on the par-five 10th. He was six-over for the final four holes, adding a pair of bogeys on the par-four 15th and 18th to his quad to finish at two-over 73 and tied for 39th.
"Max hit two bad shots on 16, both ended up in water, and took a seven," Desimone said. "In golf, sometimes you get away with bad shots and sometimes you don't. Unfortunately today he didn't."
Joël Stalter also had a two-over par 73 with a birdie on the par-four first and three bogeys, including back-to-back on the par-four 11th and par-three 12th. He had another par-three bogey on the 16th.
"This was very similar to what we've seen through the last year and a half," Desimone said. "We have typically been a slow starting team like we were today. I expect the guys to rebound knowing we're behind. I also expect Max [Homa] to come back with a real vengeance. We've got work to do. Thankfully we have 36 holes to do it."
The ASU Thunderbird Invitational continues with the final 36 holes of play Saturday and Sunday, with 18 holes each day beginning at 7:30 a.m. PT.
Cal won a school-record eight of nine tournaments in 2012-13 and is now only two victories shy of the unofficial NCAA season-record win total of 10 established by the 1985-86 Oklahoma State squad. Cal has won 14 of its last 23 tournaments overall dating back to the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign and finished in the top five in all 23.
ASU Thunderbird Invitational (hosted by Arizona State)
Tempe, Ariz. - Southern Highlands Golf Club (par-71, 7,026 yards)
TEAM LEADER BOARD (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. New Mexico (276, -8)
2. San Diego State (281, -3)
3. UNLV (283, -1)
T4. Cal (284, E)
T4. Oregon State (284, E)
6. Pepperdine (287, +3)
T7. New Mexico State (289, +5)
T7. San Diego (289, +5)
T9. Iowa State (290, +6)
T9. Arizona (290, +6)
11. UC Davis (293, +9)
T12. Harvard (294, +10)
T12. St. John's (294, +10)
14. Arizona State (296, +12)
15. Denver (297, +13)
16. Seattle (298, +14)
17. Cal State Northridge (309, +25)
18. Hawai'i (313, +29)
PLAYER LEADER BOARD - INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Nick Chianello (Oregon State) 64 (-7)
PLAYER LEADER BOARD - CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
T6. Michael Kim 69 (-2)
T12. Brandon Hagy 70 (-1)
T28. James Yoon 72 (+1)
T39. Max Homa 73 (+2)
T39. Joël Stalter 73 (+2)
