LAS VEGAS, NV – Cal (296-289 – 585, +9) moved up one spot into sole possession of seventh place Tuesday at the conclusion of second-round action at the prestigious Southern Highlands Collegiate hosted by UNLV at the par-72, 7,374-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club. The Golden Bears are playing in a 15-team field that includes 11 squads ranked in the top 25 of at least one national poll.
USC (292-280 – 572, -4) is the only team under par after 36 holes and will take a seven-shot lead into Wednesday's third and final round. Cal is 13 strokes behind the Trojans but within six of second-place Arizona State (291-288 – 579, +3).
“Tomorrow is obviously a big day for the program,” head coach Steve Desimone said. “All you need to do is look at all the teams around us and it's a who's who in college golf. This is the best tournament of the year other than the NCAA Championship and we are right in the middle of it. We're looking forward to a good solid finish tomorrow to propel us into spring break.”
“The way this tournament is going it just shows how much parity is in college golf,” associate head coach Walter Chun added. “It just takes one good round to bolt you up in the standings and hopefully we'll do that tomorrow. These guys know they are getting there. It's only a matter of time and a little luck when lightning will strike.”
Sebastian Crampton (74-71 – 145, +1) is the top Cal player on the leaderboard in a tie for 17th and seven strokes off the lead after registering the team's top round of the day Tuesday with a one-under par 71 that moved him up six spots. Crampton's birdies on each of the course's four par-five holes (3, 9, 13, 18) keyed his round while he added another on the par-four fifth. His bogeys came on a pair of par-threes on the front nine (2, 8) and back-to-back par-fours (10, 11) to open the back.
“I thought we hung in there pretty well despite getting some bad breaks and hitting some unnecessary loose shots,” Crampton said. “We just have to continue to hang in there and battle back to improve our standing.”
KK Limbhasut (74-72 – 146, +2) and Collin Morikawa (74-72 – 146, +2) both shot even-par rounds of 72 on Tuesday and moved up two spots each into a tie for 21st.
Limbhasut matched Crampton's five birdies including three on par-fives (3, 13, 18) to go along with one on the par-four seventh and one on the par-three second that Crampton bogeyed. Limbhasut was two-under after three holes but gave both strokes back with a double bogey on the par-four fourth. He also bogeys on the par-four sixth and 11th, as well as the par-three 17th.
“I got off to a good start but gave all my shots back on No. 4,” Limbhasut said. “I need to limit my mistakes tomorrow. This is one of the best fields in college golf, and it will be exciting to see how we finish this tournament against those top teams.”
Morikawa shot a two-under par 34 on the front nine with back-to-back birdies on the par-four fifth and sixth before a two-over par 38 on the back with one birdie (16) and three bogeys (10, 15, 18).
“My round today was similar to yesterday other than my putting which helped me out a little more today,” Morikawa said. “As a team, we held in there again but still didn't have our 'A' game. Hopefully we get some good breaks tomorrow and climb up the leaderboard.”
Shotaro Ban (74-74 – 148, +4) and Cameron Shaw (78-74 – 152, +8) both shot two-over par rounds of 74 on Tuesday with four birdies and six bogeys each. Ban dropped 10 spots into a tie for 33rd while Shaw moved up eight into 56th.
USC's Sean Crocker (70-68 – 138, -6) and Arizona State's Jon Rahm (69-69 – 138, -6) share the lead after 36 holes.
Cal will be paired with Oklahoma State (292-294 – 586, +10) and Oklahoma (303-283 – 586, +10) in the third and final round Wednesday. The Cowboys and Sooners will both start Wednesday's action tied for eighth place one stroke behind the Bears. The first of five foursomes from the trio of teams tees off from the first hole at 8 am PT.
NOTES
● Cal is looking for its ninth consecutive top-four finish in as many events in 2015-16. The Bears have recorded a pair of victories (Inverness Intercollegiate, Alister MacKenzie Invitational), two second-place showings (Gopher Invitational, John A. Burns Intercollegiate), have taken third three times (Nick Watney Invitational, Tavistock Collegiate Invitational, Arizona Intercollegiate) and tied for fourth once (Querencia Cabo Collegiate).
● Morikawa is looking to extend his string of top-20 finishes to all nine of his collegiate events and run his streak of consecutive top-10 finishes to five, both of which would continue to be the most by any Cal player in 2015-16.
SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS COLLEGIATE (HOSTED BY UNLV)
LAS VEGAS, NV
SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS GOLF CLUB (PAR 72, 7324 YARDS)
TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
1. USC (292-280 – 572, -4)
2. Arizona State (291-288 – 579, +3)
T3. Texas (297-284 – 581, +5)
T3. Florida (295-286 – 581, +5)
5. SMU (292-291 – 583, +7)
6. Illinois (292-292 – 584, +8)
7. Cal (296-289 – 585, +9)
T8. Oklahoma State (292-294 – 586, +10)
T8. Oklahoma (303-283 – 586, +10)
10. UNLV (296-292 – 588, +12)
11. Texas Tech (297-294 – 591, +15)
12. Alabama (294-301 – 595, +19)
13. Oregon (304-297 – 601, +25)
14. TCU (304-300 – 604, +28)
15. UCLA (308-309 – 617, +41)
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
T1. Sean Crocker – USC (70-68 – 138, -6)
T1. Jon Rahm – Arizona State (69-69 – 138, -6)
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
T17. Sebastian Crampton (74-71 – 145, +1)
T21. KK Limbhasut (74-72 – 146, +2)
T21. Collin Morikawa (74-72 – 146, +2)
T33. Shotaro Ban (74-74 – 148, +4)
56. Cameron Shaw (78-74 – 152, +8)
