May 30, 2000
Opelika, AL -
The Tournament: The Cal men's golf team travels to the NCAA Championship Tournament as one of the top 30 teams in the country, playing May 31-June 3 at the Grand National Golf Course in Opelika, Alabama. The tournament is being hosted by Auburn. All 30 teams will play the first two rounds on Wednesday, May 31 and Thursday, June 1, with the top 15 teams advancing to the final two rounds on Friday and Saturday.
The Field: The NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship 30-team field features 10 teams from the West Regional that advanced, along with 9 from the Central Regional and 11 from the East Regional, including the defending national champion and No. 4-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. The championship field includes No. 1 Georgia Tech, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Georgia, No. 5 Arizona State, No. 6 BYU, No. 7, UNLV, No. 8 Houston, No. 9 Northwestern, No. 10 Fresno State, No. 11 Auburn, No. 12, Arizona, No. 13 New Mexico, No. 14 Texas No. 18 North Florida, No. 19 Kent, No. 21, Kansas, No. 22 Washington and No. 24 Georgia State. The field also includes, East Tennessee State, Minnesota, Mississippi State, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pepperdine, Southern Cal, TCU, Virginia and Wake Forest.
Tournament Results: Live scoring can be accessed via the internet at one of the two websites: www.auburn.edu/athletics/ncaagolf or at www.ncaachampionships.org.
Cal Seed and Schedule: Cal enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 28 seed in the 30-team field. The Golden Bears will tee off from 7:12 a.m to 7:48 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, May 31, with an afternoon tee time scheduled on Thursday, June 1.
Cal Travel Plans: The Golden Bears will reside at the Auburn University Hotel. The phone number is (334) 821-8200. The fax number is (334) 826-8755.
Cal Overview: California will enter the NCAA Championships as one of the darkhorse teams in the quality field. The Bears have surprised people all season as many expected a major rebuilding season for Cal which lost a pair of key performers, Dan Coyle and Dong Yi, who were expected to occupy spots at the top of the line-up in 2000. While Cal had some solid outings early in the spring season, including an 8th place finish at the Arizona Invitational, the Bears really hit their stride over the last month of the season. The highlight of the year was an impressive team victory in the U. S. Intercollegiate Championships May 6-7 at Stanford. The Bears posted a score of 855, bettering Pepperdine by a single stoke in an 18-team field. That follows an equally impressive third place finish at the Pac-10 Championships in Tempe, AZ in late April. Cal also had a 3rd place finish in the Missouri Bluffs Intercollegiate last fall (Oct. 11-12) and an 8th place finish at the John Burns Invite in Hawaii Feb. 23-25 also gave some credibility to Cal as a national contender. Despite its solid 10th place finish in the West Regionals last week, Cal fell one spot to the No. 36 position in the MasterCard Collegiate Rankings poll of May 24.
Cal Line-Up: The Golden Bears will stay with the same line-up it's had over the last few months...
Player (Yr) Season Ave. Spring Ave. Player Notes
Han Lee (Senior) 72.3 average 71.9 average Won US Intercollegiate, 3rd at Ariz. Invite
Robert Hamilton (Sr) 73.1 average 72.9 averagw Co-captain, finished 2nd at Pac Coast Inv.
Walter Chun (Soph) 74.6 average 73.4 average Birdied 2 of 3 playoff holes at NCAA reg.
Jesse Ruda (Frosh) 74.1 average 73.6 average Had a 67 at Pac-10s, 68 at US Intercol.
James Hahn (Frosh) 74.3 average 74.4 average Tied for 17th at Pac-10s at 2-under
Cal Regional Results: California is coming off one of the more dramatic finishes in its history as the Golden Bears won on the third hole of a sudden death playoff at the NCAA Regionals in Madera, CA to capture the 10th and final qualifying spot for the NCAA Finals. Cal needed a birdie from sophomore Walter Chun on the 18th hole of the final round to post an 865 score and tie for 10th place at the NCAA Regionals played at the Riverbend Golf Course. It was a 200-yard four-iron that he hit to within three feet of the pin that set up the birdie and the berth in a three-way playoff with Stanford and Idaho. After Idaho was eliminated after the first hole, Cal finally prevailed on the third hole of the playoff and emerge as a qualifier for the NCAA Finals. The Golden Bears played steady, if not spectacular golf at the regional tournament with all five starters being within two strokes of each other and none of the 15 rounds posted during the tournament scoring more than 75. Cal head coach Steve Desimone indicated his team wasn't as sharp at the regionals as it had been in the previous weeks, but attributed it to final examinations which occurred the week before the regional tournament. Below are the regional scores for the Cal players...
T 46 Han Lee 75- 69-73--217 (+1)
T 46 Walter Chun 71-72-74-217 (+1)
T 46 James Hahn 73-70-74--217 (+1)
T 60 Robert Hamilton 75-74-70-219 (+3)
T 60 J.R. Ruda 72-72-75-219 (+3)
Bears Back in Familiar NCAA Territory: The Cal golf program has established itself as one of the most accomplished in the country over the past several years. This year marks the fourth time in the last six years, Cal has not only earned a regional berth, but advanced to the NCAA Finals. Cal finished 16th at the NCAA Championships last season, and finished 15th in 1998 and 6th in 1995. The Bears have earned a berth in the NCAA Regionals four consecutive seasons.
Rebuilding Year Turns into Cinderalla Season: Most thought Cal would be in a major rebuilding process during the 2000 season, particularly since two of Cal's top performers have not participated this year. Cal expected Dan Coyle, an academic All-American who had a 72.9 stroke average last season, and Dong Yi, who averaged 73.3 last year, to be strong candidates for the top two spots in the line-up this spring. However, an appeal for an extra year of eligbility for Coyle was turned down by the NCAA meaning his college career is over. Also, Yi elected to redshirt this year while concentrating on his academics and will return next year.
Han Lee Keys Cal NCAA Bid: One of the main keys to Cal's success at the NCAA Tournament will be senior Co-Captain Han Lee. He had Cal's only round below 70 at the NCAA regional tournament, posting a 69 in the second round at Riverbend CC. Currently, the No. 86 ranked player nationally in the MasterCard May 24 rankings, Lee has the ability to make a major impact for the Golden Bears. Earlier this month, he captured the U.S. Intercollegiate Tournament individual title at 6-under, thanks to finishing rounds of 68 and 67.. He was 5-under in three rounds at the Pac-10 Championship, finishing in a tie for 12th. Always one of the top iron players in the game, Lee has developed much more consistency in his driver and that has paid major dividends this spring. His 71.9 average this spring puts him in elite company in the college game. He earned second team All-Pac-10 honors this season, but that vote was taken before he won the U.S. Intercollegiate Tourney. Other impressive finishes this season came at the Arizona Invitational when he finished in third place with a 3-under score and at the John Burns Invitational when he also finished at 3-under to finish in 21st place.
Steve Desimone On The Dramatic NCAA Regional Finish: "It just doesn't get any better than that finish. We were playing in 100-degree heat and then you have all the pressure with everybody scrambling for that final qualifying spot. It tells you a lot about the character of your players and our guys came up big with the chips on the line. I will never forget the four-iron Walter Chun hit on No. 18 (to get Cal into the playoffs) as long as I live. I told him we probably needed a birdie and he had to go at the flag. That's as good a four-iron as you'll see anybody on any level hit in that situation.
"We weren't as sharp at the NCAA Regionals as we had been at the Pac-10 Championships and the U.S. Intercollegiates. But, you have to remember that we were really involved in final examinations until just a few days before the regional tournament. That takes a big toll at a school like Cal. Now, we're refreshed and ready to go out and play our best golf.
Steve Desimone on Similarities to Past Cal Teams: "The way this team has developed reminds me of our other three teams that made it all the way to the NCAA Finals. Those teams got hot at the tail end of the season, just like this group. As a group, our scoring averages hold up well in comparison to any of our NCAA finalist teams.
Steve Desimone on Cal's NCAA Prospects: "After the drama of the NCAA Regionals, our guys just can't wait to tee it up and let it fly. That was a huge emotional lift and I think it can carry over to the NCAA Finals.
"These are some great, great golf teams we're going head-to-head against and anything can happen. We're going to try to make it to the Top 15 and advance to the final two rounds. Then, we'll take aim at a Top 10 finish and just see what happens.
"There is no margin for error in a tournament like this. You have to do everything well - hit the ball solid, chip well, putt and think your way around the golf course.
"Some may consider us a long shot, but I don't put us in that category. We're very loose, very confident right now.
"There are so many teams of putting together a great run and being in the hunt. History tells us that teams from whatever region hosts the NCAA Tournament generally do well. That would mean teams like Clemson, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Auburn have to be watched. However, there are some great teams coming out of the West. There are just not any weak teams in this field.
Steve Desimone on the Grand National Golf Course: "I haven't seen it in person, but it's an old established Robert Trent Jones course and that probably means some hilly terrain and some large, undulating greens. At over 7,100 yards, it's going to play long. The players will have to drive it well and be ready to hit some low irons to the greens.
