May 16, 2013

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Pullman, Wash. - No. 1 Cal fired a school and course-record 23-under par score of 265 in Thursday's opening round at the 2013 NCAA Pullman Regional to take the lead after the first 18 holes of the 54-hole event hosted by Washington State at the par-72, 7,308-yard Palouse Ridge Golf Club. Cal players finished the historic round with 27 birdies, two eagles and six bogeys.

"It was obviously a great round," head coach Steve Desimone said. "The guys all played great and were all very excited about it. It puts us in the lead and in a great position to do what we want to do, which is to get back to Atlanta. But regionals have a life of their own, and we've got lots of work to do here. I'll feel a lot better if we can do it again tomorrow."

Cal leads the NCAA Pullman Regional by two strokes over second-place Saint Mary's (267, -21), while San Diego State (270, -18), USC (272, -16) and Pacific (274, -14) round out the top five.

"Yes, we want to win this tournament," Desimone said. "But let's not forget what the real goal is here, and that real goal is to finish in the top five and get to the NCAA Championship in Atlanta. We've put ourselves in a good spot for that, and if we can continue to do what we've done I like our chances. If we win even better, but let's get to Atlanta. That's the rallying cry."

The top five teams and one player competing as an individual from each of six NCAA Regionals taking place around the nation through Saturday will advance to the NCAA Championship hosted by Georgia Tech May 28 - June 2 at the Capital City Club in Alpharetta, Ga. Cal is looking to play at the NCAA Championship for a school-record fourth consecutive season and the ninth time in school history.

Joël Stalter and Michael Weaver are tied for third-place after leading the Golden Bears with seven-under par scores of 65 that are five shots behind first-round leader Sam Smith of USC. Smith broke the course record with a 10-under par 62, while Mac McClung of Saint Mary's is one shot back after an opening-round nine-under par 63. Brandon Hagy is tied for eighth after an opening-round six-under par 66, while Michael Kim is tied for 25th following his three-under par 69. With the play-five count-four scoring format, the Bears had the luxury of throwing out Max Homa's two-under par round of 70 that has the Pac-12 champion tied for 30th.

"This has been one of the stories with this team all year," Desimone said. "All of the guys in our lineup are basically like interchangeable parts. At any time, any one, two, three, four or even five of them can get going. To think that we threw out a 70 by the Pac-12 champion is really impressive. It just shows you how well everyone on this team played."

"It's incredible to have a round where you drop a 70," Stalter added. "I'm really proud of this team for breaking the record, and it's incredible to be a part of this. Now we still have two more days to go finish off what we came here for."

Stalter's round started with a bogey on the par-four first hole before he registered a team-high and round-high-tying eight birdies over his final 17. He had an especially hot stretch when he birdied five of six holes beginning on the par-five fifth. The run continued with birdies on each of the next two holes on the par-three sixth and par-four seventh. After making par on the par-four eighth, he had two more in a row on the par-five ninth and 10th holes. Stalter would later birdie the par-three 13th hole before finishing his round with back-to-back birdies on the par-five 17th and 18th.

Michael Weaver

Weaver had an eagle and five birdies during his bogey-free round, with birdies on four of the course's par-five holes (5, 9, 17, 18) and another on the par-three sixth. His eagle came on the 307-yard par-four 15th hole when he hit a three-wood off the tee to about four feet from the hole and tapped in.

"That was a hole I was hoping to birdie," Weaver said. "It was nice to do one better. I was really pleased with my round. I hit it well and putted well, so that's always a great combo."

"It's great to break the school record given some of the great rounds we have played over the year," Weaver added.

The first two of Hagy's seven birdies during the round on the par-four second and par-three fourth holes sandwiched his lone bogey on the par-four third. He would add birdies on the seventh, ninth, par-four 14th, 15th and 17th holes.

Kim was one-over par through 15 holes until finishing with a flourish that included an eagle on the 17th sandwiched by the team's lone birdie on the par-three 16th and another on the 18th. He also birdied the ninth hole, while making bogey on the first and par-three 11th.

Homa was four-under through 12 holes after birdies on the second, fifth, and par-four eighth and 12th holes. He bogeyed the 13th and 18th.

Cal will continue action Friday at the NCAA Pullman Regional with the first tee time scheduled for 8 a.m. PT. The Bears will play with Saint Mary's and San Diego State with the first threesome from the trio of teams off the first tee at 9:15 a.m. The event concludes Saturday with the third and final round slated to start at 7:30 a.m. Saturday's tee times will be determined following the conclusion of Friday's second round.

The Bears registered a school-record 10 wins in their first 12 tournaments in 2012-13 heading into the NCAA Pullman Regional to equal a modern-era single-season NCAA record previously established by the 1985-86 Oklahoma State squad. Cal has won 16 of its last 26 tournaments overall dating back to the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign and finished in the top five in all 26.

NCAA Pullman Regional (hosted by Washington State)
Pullman, Wash. - Palouse Ridge Golf Club (par-72, 7,308 yards)

TEAM LEADER BOARD (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Cal (265, -23)
2. St. Mary's (267, -21)
3. San Diego State (270, -18)
4. USC (272, -16)
5. Pacific (274, -14)
T6. TCU (276, -12)
T6. Memphis (276, -12)
T8. Virginia Tech (277, -11)
T8. North Texas (277, -11)
10. Ball State (281, -7)
11. BYU (282, -6)
12. Baylor (289, +1)
13. Princeton (292, +4)
14. St. Francis, Pa. (300, +12)

PLAYER LEADER BOARD - INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
1. Sam Smith (USC) 62 (-10)

PLAYER LEADER BOARD - CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 1 of 3 days/1 of 3 rounds/18 of 54 holes)
T3.>Joël Stalter 65 (-7)
T3. Michael Weaver 65 (-7)
T8. Brandon Hagy 66 (-6)
T25. Michael Kim 69 (-3)
T30. Max Homa 70 (-2)