MARANA, Ariz. – Cal (287-293 – 580, +4) remained in the same coveted fifth-place spot the Golden Bears opened the day in at the end of second-round action Tuesday at the NCAA Tucson Regional. The top five teams and top individual not from one of those squads at the conclusion of the event's 54 holes Wednesday will advance to the final field of 30 at the 2016 NCAA Championships to be contested May 27 – June 1 and hosted by Oregon at the Eugene Country Club.
“Another NCAA Regional down to the wire,” said Cal head coach Steve Desimone, who will retire at the end of the current 2015-16 season after 37 campaigns in the role. “I've been to countless NCAA Regionals and every one has a pressure and a life of its own. There's so much parity and so many good teams in college golf that it really depends on the day, the course and the conditions. The teams that advance tomorrow are going to putt the best, make a few birdies and keep the ball out of the desert.”
Cal has made all 21 of its NCAA Regional appearances under the two-time national and three-time conference Coach of the Year including its current school-record string of 10 in a row and is looking to reach the NCAA Championships for the 11th time under Desimone and 14th time in school history.
Stanford (274-284 – 558, -18) has a 15-stroke lead on the remainder of the field after 36 holes while Oregon (285-288 – 573, -3), UAB (283-291 – 574, -2) and North Florida (293-283 – 576, E) are also in front of the Bears heading into Wednesday's final round. Wake Forest (286-295 – 581, +5) is in sixth place one shot behind Cal while UC Riverside (288-297 – 585, +9) and Georgia Tech (297-288 – 585, +9) are another three shots back in a tie for seventh.
“We were fifth yesterday, we were fifth today, and if we end in fifth tomorrow we'll have a great trip home,” Desimone said. “We'll just lay it all out on the course and, hopefully, we'll finish in the top five. I get the sense if there's a way to pull it off and 'win one for the Gipper' so to speak they just might dig down, but they want to go to Eugene as badly as I do. When it gets down to that back nine tomorrow the last thing they are going to be thinking about is whether this is going to be my final round.”
Wednesday's third and final round at The Gallery Golf Club's par-72, 7,258-yard North Course is scheduled to begin at 7 am PT. Cal will play along with fourth-place North Florida and sixth-place Wake Forest in five threesomes with the first starting from the opening tee at 7:20 am MST/PDT. Wednesday's weather forecast is for mostly sunny skies and a high of 83 degrees with light winds.
KK Limbhasut (68-73 – 141, -3) is the top Cal player on the leaderboard after two rounds in a tie for fifth and five strokes behind second-round leader Franklin Huang of Stanford (67-69 – 136, -8). Shotaro Ban (70-73 – 143, -1) is also in the top 10 in a tie for 10th, while Collin Morikawa (76-70 – 146, +2) moved up 26 spots into a tie for 23rd after his two-under par round Wednesday that was Cal's best of the day. Sebastian Crampton (73-77 – 150, +6) is tied for 41st while Jamie Cheatham (79-77 – 156, +12) is tied for 65th.
Limbhasut has been near the top of the leaderboard for most of the event and was one-under par during Tuesday's second round and reached five-under par for the tournament before making double bogey at the par-five 16th. He had birdies at the par-four first and par-five ninth and 11th holes, while his two bogeys came back-to-back at the par-three fourth and par-four fifth.
“I played well today up until the 16th hole and could have saved some shots for the team,” Limbhasut said. “We didn't play well as a unit overall, but we are still in the top five so if we play how we usually play we should end up in the top five. Every single shot counts tomorrow and there is no room to leave shots out on the course.”
Ban was two-under par for the round through 13 holes Wednesday and got to four-under par for the tournament before three consecutive bogeys midway through the back nine on the par-four 14th, par-three 15th and par-five 16th. Ban had bogeyed the opening hole before eight straight pars, a birdie on the par-four 10th and an eagle on the par-five 11th.
“I played well today as I did yesterday and just goofed coming down the stretch,” Ban said. “But individual rounds don't really matter. This is a team game and the team is struggling a bit right now, but I believe we can pull through. We have to pull through. Last years' experience [at the NCAA Lubbock Regional] will definitely help us, but hopefully we will advance this time. We just need to be smart and we will be in the top five.”
Cal finished seventh at the 2015 NCAA Lubbock Regional one shot out of a playoff for the fifth and final qualifying spot to end a school-record string of five consecutive NCAA Championships appearances.
Morikawa wrapped up his round Tuesday with an eagle when he holed out by knocking in a nine-iron from 144 yards on the par-four 18th. His approach shot hit about 25 feet past the flag and spun back down the slope trickling into the hole. He also had birdies on the first, par-five sixth and 14th holes, while his three bogeys came on the par-four fifth and 10th, and par-five 16th.
“It was a great feeling to end the day with,” Morikawa said about his round-ending eagle. “But for me today it was about minimizing my mistakes. In the first round, I made way too many mistakes for this late in the season and coming in with a much better round today gives me more confidence going into tomorrow's final round. As a team, I think we left a lot of shots on the course the past couple of days, and combined with not playing our best golf has resulted in scores that we are as not as happy with. However, that being said, we can only forget about the past two rounds and worry about what is ahead of us tomorrow. It will definitely be a close race down to the final hole so it is important for all of us to remember that every shot counts.”
NCAA TUCSON REGIONAL (HOSTED BY ARIZONA)
MARANA, AZ
THE GALLERY GOLF CLUB NORTH COURSE (PAR 72, 7258 YARDS)
TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
1. Stanford (274-284 – 558, -18)
2. Oregon (285-288 – 573, -3)
3. UAB (283-291 – 574, -2)
4. North Florida (293-283 – 576, E)
5. Cal (287-293 – 580, +4)
6. Wake Forest (286-295 – 581, +5)
T7. UC Riverside (288-297 – 585, +9)
T7. Georgia Tech (297-288 – 585, +9)
T9. North Texas (296-301 – 597, +21)
T9. Georgia State (303-294 – 597, +21)
11. Saint Mary's (291-307 – 598, +22)
12. Louisiana Tech (301-304 – 605, +29)
13. North Carolina (310-312 – 622, +46)
14. Siena (311-325 – 636, +60)
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
1. Franklin Huang – Stanford (67-69 – 136, -8)
PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 2 of 3 days/2 of 3 rounds/36 of 54 holes)
T5. KK Limbhasut (68-73 – 141, -3)
T10. Shotaro Ban (70-73 – 143, -1)
T23. Collin Morikawa (76-70 – 146, +2)
T41. Sebastian Crampton (73-77 – 150, +6)
T65. Jamie Cheatham (79-77 – 156, +12)
