April 28, 2013
Event Coverage
Tournament Notes
Twitter Trivia
The Cal Men's Golf team won a school-record nine of their 11 regular-season tournaments in 2012-13. How many wins do you think the Golden Bears will finish with and do they have a shot at Oklahoma State's unofficial NCAA record of 10 set in 1985-86? Tweet your answers to @CalMensGolf.
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Day, Date - Event (Round) - Location (Course) - Host - Start Time
Mon., April 29 - Pac-12 Championship (First & Second Rounds) - Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Country Club - North Course) - UCLA - 8 a.m. PT
Tue., April 30 - Pac-12 Championship (Third Round) - Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Country Club - North Course) - UCLA - 8 a.m. PT
Wed., May 1 - Pac-12 Championship (Fourth Round) - Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Country Club - North Course) - UCLA - 8 a.m. PT
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CAL TO DEFEND TITLE AT PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP
No. 1 Cal will defend its title at the 2013 Pac-12 Championship hosted by UCLA this Monday-Wednesday, April 29 - May 1. The event will take place at the par-70, 7,236-yard Los Angeles Country Club North Course. The 72-hole tournament with a six-player, count-five scoring format begins from the first and 10th tees at 8 a.m. all three days. Each of the 12 teams in the field are scheduled to play 36 holes of golf Monday followed by 18 holes Tuesday and Wednesday. There is no admission charge to the event and parking is free. Fans can also follow the event online by visiting CalBears.com, which will link to the live scoring provided by golfstat.com. Fans can also check out the latest updates on Twitter by following @CalMensGolf. When tweeting about the Cal men's golf team, fans can help spread the word by using the hashtag #CalMensGolf, while the official hashtag for the Pac-12 Championships is #Pac12MensGolf. A recap and complete results at the end of each day's action will also be available by visiting CalBears.com.
SCHOOL-RECORD NINS WINS, ONE FROM NCAA RECORD
Cal won a school-record nine of its 11 regular-season tournaments in 2012-13 and is one shy of the unoffical NCAA record of 10 set by Oklahoma State in 1985-86. Cal has been victorious in 15 of its last 25 events overall dating back to the beginning of the 2011-12 campaign and has finished in the top five in all 25.
CAL'S 2013 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP LINEUP
Cal's lineup for the 2013 Pac-12 Championship is listed below along with each player's 2012-13 and career stroke play events and rounds, stroke play averages, and current Golfweek and Golfstat national rankings.
Season Season Season Career Career Career Golfweek Golfstat
No. Name Events Rounds Avg. Events Rounds Avg. Ranking Ranking
1. Michael Kim 11 33 69.88 23 70 70.69 1 1
2. Max Homa 11 33 71.24 45 137 71.96 26 31
3. James Yoon 4 12 73.00 4 12 73.00 18* NR
4. Brandon Hagy 10 30 71.07 31 95 71.90 22 28
5. Joël Stalter 9 27 70.70 23 71 71.94 12 12
6. Michael Weaver 9 27 71.56 31 93 72.20 21 25
Visit the 2012-13 roster online at CalBears.com for links to complete player bios;
*Golfweek rankings with asterisks for secondary list of players without enough rounds to
qualify for primary rankings; ^Rankings last updated: Golfweek (4/22/13), Golfstat (4/23/13)
KIM LOOKING TO BREAK 70.00 STROKE AVERAGE, FIVE AT 71.56 OR LOWER
Michael Kim leads Cal with a 69.88 stroke average, while Joël Stalter (70.70), Brandon Hagy (71.07), Max Homa (71.24) and Michael Weaver (71.56) are also all at 71.56 or lower.
2013 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
No. 1 Cal is one of five Pac-12 teams among the nation's top-10 teams according to Golfweek or Golfstat. In addition to the top-ranked Bears, other teams ranked in the top 10 nationally include (with Golfstat/Golfweek rankings) UCLA (No. 3/5), Washington (No. 4/7), Stanford (No. 8/8) and USC (No. 12/11). Oregon (No. 43/44), Arizona State (No. 51/47), Oregon State (No. 54/51), Colorado (No. 60/67), Arizona (No. 65/63), Washington State (No. 86/71) and Utah (No. 136/133) round out the field.
2013 PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP WEATHER FORECAST
The weather forecast for the 2013 Pac-12 Championship calls for high tempreatures in the mid-low 70's during each of the event's three days Monday-Wednesday, with lows in the high 50's to low 60's. Winds are forecast to be no higher than seven miles per hour primiarly out of the south and southwest. The forecast includes a 20 percent chance of rain on Tuesday and partly cloudy skies all three days until afternoon sun on Wednesday.
CAL'S HISTORY AT PAC-10/12 CHAMPIONSHIP
Cal is the defending Pac-12 champion after winning its first conference title in the 53 years of the event in 2012 at the Trysting Tree Golf Club. The Bears won on the second hole of a playoff against third-round leader Oregon after tying the event on the final hole of regulation on Brandon Hagy's 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. Cal started the final round six holes behind the Ducks and was still trailing by five with three regulation holes to go. Cal has its top four golfers returning to the 2013 event from last year's lineup. Hagy tied for fifth a year ago, while Joël Stalter tied for ninth, Max Homa tied for 13th and Michael Kim tied for 19th. Homa and Stalter also played the 2011 event at Stanford, finishing 38th and tied for 48th. Hagy also tied for 20th in 2010 when the event was hosted by Arizona State and the ASU Karsten Golf Course. Michael Weaver also played both in 2010 and 2011, finishing tied for sixth and tied for 30th, respectively. at Stanford in 2011 and finished tied for 30th. Cal has had two individual medalists in the history of the event with Eric Mina winning in 2010 and current PGA golfer Charlie Wi taking the 1995 event played in Richland, Wash. The conference's championship event began in 1960 (the Golden Bears have played in 50 of the 53 events, not participating from 1980-82 when Cal men's golf was not varsity status). The top team finish for the Bears prior to last year's title came with a second-place showing in 1995, while Cal has been third on four occasions (1992, `96, 2000, '08).
IMPRESSIVE WIN TOTALS
Not only did Cal win nine of its 11 regular-season events but when team's record against all of the opponents in their field is added up, the Bears are an astounding 149-3-1. The three losses came to New Mexico and TCU when the Bears finished behind those schools at the Arizona Intercollegiate and UNLV when the Bears were one shot behind the Runnin' Rebels at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational. The one tie came when Cal shared the PING/Golfweek Preview title with host Georgia Tech. The Bears have also have a huge combined margin of victory in their nine tournament wins totaling 133 strokes, including a season-high 37-shot win over host Fresno State at the Fresno State Lexus Classic. During the two tournaments Cal has not won, the Bears have finished a combined four shots off pace of the leaders.
SEVEN INDIVIDUAL MEDALISTS IN LAST EIGHT TOURNAMENTS
Cal had seven individual medalists over its final eight regular-season events, including a single-season school-record four from Michael Kim over his last seven events. Brandon Hagy started a string of six consecutive tournaments with a win at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational before a victory by Kim at the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational closed out the team's fall slate. Kim then shared Arizona Intercollegiate individual medalist honors with teammate Joël Stalter to begin the spring schedule before Stalter won the John A. Burns Intercollegiate. Kim extended the string by capturing the Fresno State Lexus Classic and sharing indiviudal medalist honors with three others at the end of 54 regulation holes at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters. The run was finally snapped when Brandon Hagy was Cal's top golfer tied for second one shot off the lead at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational. Kim and Max Homa tied for second two shots off the lead in the team's regular-season finale at the Western Intercollegiate. Before the stretch started Cal's last individual victory came when Eric Mina won the 2010 Pac-10 Championship.
KIM WITH 10 OF CAL'S 32 TOP-10 INDIVIDUAL FINISHES
Michael Kim finished in the top 10 in each of Cal's first nine tournaments in 2012-13 and 10 of 11 regular-season events with his one finish outside of the top 10 being when he tied for 11th at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational. Cal has a total of 32 top-10 individual showings. Max Homa is second on the club with five top-10 finishes. Brandon Hagy, Joël Stalter and Michael Weaver each have four top-10 finishes, while James Yoon picked up his first top-10 showing by tying for seventh at the Western Intercollegiate in the regular-season finale. Cal had a season-high-tying four top-10 finishers in back-to-back tournaments at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate and the Fresno State Lexus Classic, including the top three individuals in both events.
NATIONAL LEADERS
Cal leads the nation in 10 of 14 team categories in the latest national statistics complied by Golfstat as of April 28, 2013, including average score (71.25), versus par (-0.11), par-three scoring (3.12), par-four scoring (4.06), par-five scoring (4.66), birdies (602), subpar strokes/round (3.74), greens in regulation (70.3), putts on green in regulation (1.826) and short game percentage (59.7%). Cal's complete national stroke-play stats and rankings can be found online at Golfstat.com.
NO. 1 TEAM FOR MOST OF THE SEASON
Cal has spent nearly the entire 2012-13 season as the nation's No. 1 ranked team. The Bears first moved into the spot in the Golfstat, Golfweek and GolfWord/Nike national polls that followed their victory at the PING/Golfweek Preview in late September and have not left the top spot in any of them since.
Michael Kim LEADS CAL'S 2012-13 HONORS AND AWARDS
National Player of the Year candidate Michael Kim leads Cal's list of honors and award recipients in 2012-13. Kim is the No. 1 candidate for the Haskins Award given annually to the nation's top collegiate player by Golfweek and a national semifinalist for the Ben Hogan Award presented to the best college golfer by the Golf Coaches Association of America. Below is a complete list.
Cal Team - Golfweek Team of the Week (September 17, 2012; February 26, 2013)
Steve Desimone (Head Coach) - 2012 Jack Lemmon Ambassador of Golf Award
Brandon Hagy - The Ben Hogan Award Watch List
Max Homa - The Ben Hogan Award Watch List, Pac-12 Player of the Month (September 2012)
Michael Kim - Haskins Award Watch List (Current No. 1 Ranking), The Ben Hogan Award National Semifinalist, Pac-12 Player of the Month (October 2012, March 2013), Golfweek Player of the Week (February 4, 2013)
Joël Stalter - Haskins Award Watch List (Current No. 9 Ranking), Pac-12 Player of the Month (February 2013), Golfweek Player of the Week (February 26, 2013)
Michael Weaver - The Ben Hogan Award Watch List
BEARS GARNER FOUR CONSECUTIVE 2012-13 PAC-12 MEN'S GOLFER OF THE MONTH SELECTIONS
Michael Kim's selection in March of 2013 marked Cal's fourth consecutive Pac-12 Men's Golfer of the Month honor in 2012-13 to give the Bears a clean sweep of the first four times the honor has been awarded this season. Kim's selection follows the picks of teammate Max Homa (September 2012) and Kim's first honor (October 2012) in the fall, as well as Joël Stalter (February 2013) to begin the spring.
THREE BEARS RANKED NO. 1 IN 2012-13
Michael Kim is the nation's No. 1 player in the latest rankings released by both Golfweek (4/22/13) and Golfstat (4/23/13). Cal has five of the nation's top 26 players according to Golfweek as Joël Stalter (No. 12), Michael Weaver (No. 21), Brandon Hagy (No. 22) and Max Homa (No. 26) are listed along with Kim. In the Golfstat rankings, Kim is joined in the top 31 by Stalter (No. 12), Weaver (No. 25), Hagy (No. 28) and Homa (No. 31). Homa was the nation's top-ranked golfer in both sets of rankings in late September and early October of 2012, while Stalter held the top spot in both in February and March of 2013. The trio represent the first three Cal players to ever be ranked No. 1 nationally.
THREE CAL PLAYERS NAMED TO PALMER CUP
Michael Kim (United States), Joël Stalter (Europe) and Michael Weaver (United States) have been named to represent their respective Palmer Cup teams for the event to be held June 7-9 at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Del. The event features two teams of 10 collegiate players each from the United States and Europe facing each other in a match-play style format reminiscent of the Ryder Cup. All three players finished among the top six in the final Palmer Cup Ranking, with the top six players in the ranking automatically qualifying for the event. Kim was the No. 1 ranked player for the United States, while Stalter and Weaver were both No. 6 in the rankings for their respective squads. Brandon Hagy and Max Homa were also ranked on the Team USA list at No. 14 and No. 17, respectively.
WEAVER MAKES CAL HISTORY AT 2013 MASTERS, MISSES FINAL TWO REGULAR-SEASON TOURNAMENTS
Michael Weaver made Cal history when he became the team's first current golfer to play in the Masters. Weaver (78-74 - 152, +8) played in the first rounds on April 11 and 12 but did not make the cut. Weaver missed Cal's final two regular-season tournaments at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational and Western Intercollegiate to prepare for and play in the Masters. Weaver finished as the runner up at the 2012 U.S. Amateur to earn both his Masters invitation as well as an exemption into the 2013 U.S. Open to be played June 13-16 at the East Course at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.
HEAD COACH STEVE DESIMONE
Head coach Steve Desimone is in his 34th season at the helm of the Cal men's golf team in 2012-13. His club has been ranked No. 1 nationally since shortly after winning the PING/Golfweek Preview in late September of 2012. The Bears won a school-record nine of their first 11 regular-season tournaments in 2012-13 and are one shy of the unofficial NCAA single-season record of 10 set by the 1985-86 Oklahoma State squad.. Desimone directed Cal to an NCAA title in 2004 during one of the program's eight NCAA Championship appearances, including a current chool-record run of three in a row that began in 2010. Desimone's teams have appeared in NCAA Regionals 17 times with a current run of six in a row that began in 2008 and is two shy of the school-record eight straight from 1997-2004. He also led Cal to its first NCAA Regional and Pac-12 titles in 2011-12 and has won 53 career events.
2011-12: A SEASON OF FIRSTS
The Bears foreshadowed what was to come to this point in 2012-13 with a season of firsts in 2011-12 when Cal made its first trip to match play at the NCAA Championship and recorded its first NCAA match-play victory in the quarterfinals over San Diego State. Cal tied for third for its second-highest finish ever at the NCAA's to the team's lone national title in 2004. Cal also captured its first NCAA Regional and Pac-12 titles, posted a then school-record six wins (doubled the previous mark) that have since been surpassed in 2012-13, and had top-five finishes in all 14 events for the first time in school history.