May 30, 2013
MILTON, Ga. - Max Homa (70-65-66 - 201, -9) became the first player in Cal history to win individual medalist honors at the NCAA Championship and No. 1 Cal (277-272-275 - 824, -16) posted the lowest team score at the end of 54 holes of stroke play Thursday to become the top seed for match play beginning Friday. The Bears will play No. 8 seed Arizona State in the first of four quarterfinals Friday beginning at 10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT.
"These guys are so much fun to have," head coach Steve Desimone said. "I just couldn't be more proud of this group. It's just pretty overwhelming in all honesty, and I know that emotion can only last for a little while because we have got to regroup for tomorrow, but right now we're going to enjoy this for at least a couple hours and then we have to get back to work."
"I'm as excited as I can be," Homa said. "This is the biggest accomplishment of my life not even close. Obviously, the team [win] would be much better, but right now it feels really, really good."
Homa played bogey-free golf during his four-under par round of 66 and led most of the way after a hot start that included birdies on three of his first five holes on the par-four second, par-five fourth and par-four fifth. He added his fourth and final birdie on the par-five 12th. Homa also had holed a key 40-foot putt to save par on eight.
Homa was in a tight race with several others down the stretch but made par on his final six holes after his birdie on 12 while others around him faltered. He extended his lead from one to three strokes when teammate Brandon Hagy made a double bogey on the par-three 15th to go from eight to six-under.
"I'm so proud of Max [Homa]," Hagy said. "He's a great player. He works so hard. It's definitely deserving. I can't wait to go congratulate him. It's pretty cool."
"When he settles in and understands how the game is played he's as good as anybody, if not the best player in the country," Desimone said. " We've seen that in the last month. He's won a Pac 12 Championship and an NCAA Championship. What more can you say? If there's anybody in the country better than Max, I'd have to see it."
Homa had previously finished tied for ninth at the 2012 NCAA Championship and now has two of the school's all-time top-10 finishes in the event.
Brandon Stone of Texas got to within two shots of Homa at seven-under before dropping a stroke when he bogeyed 15. Finishing his round on the front nine after starting on the 10th tee, Daniel Berger of Florida State (69-67-68 - 204, -6) made a late run to get within three shots of Homa after birdies on the fifth and par-three sixth holes but played his final three holes in one-over par. Berger ended in a six-way tie for second place along with first and second-round leader Jon Rahm of Arizona State (61-72-71 - 204, -6), who had only one birdie during his final round.
Hagy (66-69-70 - 205, -5) finished in a tie for eighth after starting the third and final round tied for fourth. He was three-under for the day and eight-under for the tournament and within a stroke of Homa before his double on 15. He dropped another stroke with a bogey on the par-four 17th. His four birdies came on the fourth, fifth, par-four 11th and 12th holes. He bogeyed the par-three sixth.
Michael Kim (72-70-70 - 212, +2) and Joël Stalter (69-68-75 - 212, +2) ended in a tie for 49th, while Michael Weaver tied for 69th (74-71-69 - 214, +4).
Kim shot even par for the second consecutive day with a round that included four birdies and four bogeys, with three of each over his first six holes. He started with a bogey on the par-four first then birdied the second and par-three third back-to-back. After a bogey on the par-fourth, he came back with another birdie on five before a bogey on six. Kim would make 10 pars over his final 12 holes with the lone exceptions a bogey on 11 and a birdie on 12.
Stalter had a tough round that was the score thrown out by the team after two previous under-par efforts that had him tied for 16th after two rounds. He did not make a birdie during a round that had back-to-back bogeys on the par-four eighth and ninth holes, a double bogey on the par-four 16th and a bogey on 18.
After his first two rounds were thrown out in the team score, Michael Weaver had a wild one-under par round that counted. The round included Cal's only eagle during three rounds of stroke play (4), five birdies (2, 6, 8, 11, 12), four bogeys (3, 9, par-four 10, par-three 13) and a double bogey (16).
In addition to Cal and Arizona State, the other six teams to earn spots in match play beginning Friday include host Georgia Tech (274-274-282 - 830, -10), Alabama (275-276-282 - 833, -7), Texas (279-271-283 - 833, -7), Illinois (276-281-278 - 835, -5), New Mexico (292-274-276 - 842, +2) and UNLV (286-284-272 - 842, +2).
New Mexico, UNLV and Arizona State earned their spots with even-par team scores in a one-hole playoff, while Texas A&M (285-275-282) was eliminated by going one-over par.
Cal's final round of five-under par 275 was the second-best round of the day behind UNLV, who started the third round tied for 21st before an eight-under par 272 that was the best of the day and tied for the best of the tournament.
Cal has won 11 of its first 13 tournaments in 2012-13 to set a modern-era NCAA single-season win record previously established by Oklahoma State in 1985-86. Dating back to the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign Cal has won 17 of its last 27 events and finished in the top five in each of them.
The Golden Bears have a lone NCAA title to their credit in 2004 in their 12 appearances at the NCAA Championship. Cal is in the NCAA Championship in 2013 for a school-record fourth consecutive season.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS FRIDAY SCHEDULE
10 a.m. ET/7 a.m. PT - No. 1 Cal vs. No. 8 Arizona State
10:45 a.m. ET/7:45 a.m. PT - No. 4 Texas vs. No. 5 Illinois
11:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. PT - No. 2 Georgia Tech vs. No. 7 UNLV
12:15 p.m. ET/9:15 a.m. PT - No. 3 Alabama vs. No. 6 New Mexico
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP (HOSTED BY GEORGIA TECH)
MILTON, GA - CAPITAL CITY CLUB, CRABAPPLE COURSE (PAR-70, 7,319 YARDS)
FINAL STROKE-PLAY TEAM LEADER BOARD (after 3 of 3 stroke-play days/3 of 3 stroke-play rounds/54 of 54 stroke-play holes)
1. California (277-272-275 - 824, -16)
2. Georgia Tech (274-274-282 - 830, -10)
T3. Alabama (275-276-282 - 833, -7)
T3. Texas (279-271-283 - 833, -7)
5. Illinois (276-281-278 - 835, -5)
*T6. New Mexico (292-274-276 - 842, +2)
*T6. Texas A&M (285-275-282 - 842, +2)
*T6. UNLV (286-284-272 - 842, +2)
*T6. Arizona State (270-288-284 - 842, +2)
10. Arkansas (286-271-286 - 843, +3)
T11. Oklahoma (278-284-283 - 845, +5)
T11. Florida State (287-277-281 - 845, +5)
13. Auburn (292-279-275 - 846, +6)
T14. Texas Tech (288-283-276 - 847, +7)
T14. Oklahoma State (279-293-275 - 847, +7)
T16. Washington (281-283-284 - 848, +8)
T16. UCF (287-274-287 - 848, +8)
18. North Florida (281-282-286 - 849, +9)
T19. TCU (294-272-284 - 850, +10)
T19. Georgia (286-283-281 - 850, +10)
T19. Tennessee (286-277-287 - 850, +10)
22. Coastal Carolina (293-275-283 - 851, +11)
T23. LSU (285-282-287 - 854, +14)
T23. USC (291-278-285 - 854, +14)
25. Florida (291-283-283 - 857, +17)
26. UCLA (289-281-288 - 858, +18)
T27. South Carolina (286-296-286 - 868, +28)
T27. Kent State (282-293-293 - 868, +28)
29. Saint Mary's (287-294-288 - 869, +29)
30. Ball State (290-289-293 - 872, +32)
FINAL STROKE PLAYER LEADER BOARD - INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST (after 3 of 3 stroke-play days/3 of 3 stroke-play rounds/54 of 54 stroke-play holes)
1. Max Homa (Cal) 70-65-66 - 201 (-9)
FINAL STROKE PLAYER LEADER BOARD - CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 3 of 3 stroke-play days/3 of 3 stroke-play rounds/54 of 54 stroke-play holes)
1. Max Homa 70-65-66 - 201 (-9)
T8. Brandon Hagy 66-69-70 - 205 (-5)
T49.Michael Kim 72-70-70 - 212 (+2)
T49. Joël Stalter 69-68-75 - 212 (+2)
T69. Michael Weaver 74-71-69 - 214 (+4)
DIVISION I PING FIRST-TEAM ALL-AMERICANS - CAL INDIVIDUALS
Max Homa
Michael Kim
Michael Weaver
ARNOLD PALMER AWARD PRESENTED BY CALLAWAY (NATIONAL INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST)
Max Homa
GOLF STAT CUP (LOWEST STROKE AVERAGE)
Michael Kim (70.14)
