PULLMAN, Wash. – KK Limbhasut (70-69-66 – 205, -5) shot a collegiate career-best four-under par 66 in third-round action Tuesday at the 2015 Pac-12 Championships to move into a tie for second place four shots behind 54-hole leader Maverick McNealy of Stanford (65-68-68 – 201, -9). The fourth and final round of the event co-hosted by Washington State and the Pac-12 is scheduled for Wednesday at the par-70, 7257-yard Palouse Ridge Golf Club.
Limbhasut is looking to become the first freshman to win Pac-12 individual medalist honors since USC's Jamie Lovemark in 2007. Three Cal players have won the event in its first 57 years of existence. Charlie Wi was the first in 1997, while Eric Mina (2010) and Max Homa (2013) have given the Golden Bears winners in two of the last five seasons. Cal has never had a freshman win the event with Michael Weaver the most recent to finish in the top 10, tying for sixth in 2010.
“It's good to be in second place but there is still plenty of golf left tomorrow,” Limbhasut said.
Limbhasut's score Tuesday was the second-best of the day among the field's 72 players and tied for the third-lowest by a Cal player in 2014-15. In addition to being the lowest collegiate score of his career it was also one shot off his best ever in a competitive round. Limbhasut has shot 65 on multiple occasions, most recently in the opening round of the 2014 California State Fair Amateur.
Limbhasut began his round Tuesday on the 10th hole and shot a four-under par 31 over his first nine holes with birdies on the par-four 12th, 14th and 17th holes, as well as the par-five 18th. His birdie on a 17th hole that has yielded only five over the tournament's first three rounds and played as the third-toughest hole on the golf course came on a 45-foot putt. He would make his only bogey of the round to start his back nine on the par-four first but answered immediately with his fifth and final birdie on the par-four second. He finished his round with seven consecutive pars.
“I didn't hit it as well as yesterday but I was able to convert a lot of putts over my first nine holes,” said Limbhasut, who has 14 birdies through three rounds to rank behind only McNealy in the field. “That helped me a lot because the other half of the golf course is definitely the tougher nine.”
“We talked yesterday about KK being Mr. Steady, well he can also be Mr. Spectacular as he was today,” head coach Steve Desimone said. “He hit a lot of awful good shots and made some putts today. KK has played really well all year. He's always been a big tournament player and we're seeing it again.”
Limbhasut has a team-high six top-15 finishes in 2014-15, including his first collegiate win at the Aggie Invitational earlier this month. He is the only Cal player to have participated in all 12 of the team's events this season.
Limbhasut's performance Tuesday helped Cal (359-361-356 – 1076, +26) record the fourth-best round of the day and inch up one spot into a tie for seventh place at the end of the day's action.
“Overall I thought we played some really good golf today and we've really played well given the fact that we've been undermanned,” Desimone said in reference to illnesses that have affected Cameron Shaw and Alexander Wilson. “We worked just as hard today as we did in the first two rounds, but we got a couple more breaks and made a couple more putts, and obviously KK [Limbhasut] really carried the day.”
Arizona State (354-351-342 – 1047, -3) posted the best round of the day with an eight-under par effort and is the only team in the tournament under par through 54 holes. The Sun Devils hold a nine-shot lead over second-place Stanford (362-348-346 – 1056, +6) heading into Wednesday's final 18 holes.
Shotaro Ban (67-71-73 – 211, +1) has fallen into a tie for 13th after having briefly led during Monday's second round. He began the second half of the tournament Tuesday in a tie for sixth but dropped seven spots after his three-over par outing Tuesday. Ban was even for the day through 14 holes with birdies on the par-five 18th and fifth holes and bogeys on the par-three 11th and par-four third but bogeyed three consecutive holes down the stretch on the par-three sixth, and par-four seventh and eighth.
Keelan Kilpatrick (72-75-71 – 218, +8) and Sebastian Crampton (77-71-71 – 219, +9) both had one-over par rounds on Tuesday and are tied for 35th and tied for 39th, respectively. Ben Doyle (73-75-75 – 223, +13) is tied for 52nd after his second consecutive five-over par round. Alexander Wilson shot a nine-over par round of 79 on Tuesday after returning to action following an 11-over par 81 in his first round before being forced to withdraw from his second round Monday due to illness.
Tee times for Wednesday's fourth and final round begin at 8 a.m. PDT. Cal will play along with Washington State and UCLA on Wednesday starting from the 10th with the first threesome also beginning at 8 a.m. The forecast calls for a high temperature of 58 and a low of 38 with partly cloudy skies and winds nearing 15 miles per hour after Tuesday saw a high of 78 under sunny skies with winds under 10 miles per hour.
“There's an awful lot of pride in this and I sense that we'll be ready to go tomorrow,” Desimone said. “It will be an interesting day with five teams within seven shots. Every shot is going to count.”
PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS (CO-HOSTED BY PAC-12 AND WASHINGTON STATE)
PULLMAN, WA
PALOUSE RIDGE GOLF CLUB (PAR 70, 7257 YARDS)
TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 2 of 3 days/3 of 4 rounds/54 of 72 holes)
1. Arizona State (354-351-342 – 1047, -3)
2. Stanford (362-348-346 – 1056, +6)
3. USC (355-344-361 – 1060, +10)
4. Oregon (357-360-349 – 1066, +16)
5. Washington (363-353-357 – 1073, +23)
6. Oregon State (361-357-357 – 1075, +25)
T7. Washington State (363-347-366 – 1076, +26)
T7. Cal (359-361-356 – 1076, +26)
9. UCLA (364-358-358 – 1080, +30)
10. Arizona (372-364-359 – 1095, +45)
11. Colorado (374-365-361 – 1100, +50)
12. Utah (382-376-382 – 1140, +90)
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 2 of 3 days/3 of 4 rounds/54 of 72 holes)
1. Maverick McNealy – Stanford (65-68-68 – 201, -9)
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 2 of 3 days/3 of 4 rounds/54 of 72 holes)
T2. KK Limbhasut (70-69-66 – 205, -5)
T13. Shotaro Ban (67-71-73 – 211, +1)
T35. Keelan Kilpatrick (72-75-71 – 218, +8)
T39. Sebastian Crampton (77-71-71 – 219, +9)
T52. Ben Doyle (73-75-75 – 223, +13)
WD. Alexander Wilson (81-WD-79)
