May 29, 2013
MILTON, Ga. - No. 1 Cal (277-272 - 549, -11) is in the clubhouse in third place after its second round of action Wednesday at the NCAA Championship being played at the Capital City Club in the Atlanta area. With the entire first half of the 30-team field finished for the day and the second half of the field currently on the course only first-round leader Arizona State (still on course at -14 thru five holes) and host Georgia Tech (274-274 - 548, -12) are in front of the Golden Bears.
Texas (279-271 - 550, -10) and Alabama (275-276 - 551, -9) are also in the clubhouse one and two shots back of the Bears, while no team on the course other than Arizona State is under par.
Cal had the first tee time of the day on Wednesday at 7 a.m. ET and took advantage of calm and surprisingly cool and cloudy conditions on the Crabapple Course. Cal got to -17 under for the round and -20 for the tournament at one point to stake a nine-stroke lead before struggling over the final half of the back nine that featured some of the course's toughest holes as conditions began to warm and become more windy and muggy, and the greens became harder.
Cal's four scoring players posted a combined nine-over par score on the final three holes after playing the first 13 holes in 17-under par.
Three Cal players broke par Wednesday, with Max Homa (70-65 - 135, -5) and Brandon Hagy (66-69 - 135, -5) tied for third with the first half of the field in the clubhouse and the second half of the field on the course. Joël Stalter (69-68 - 137, -3) is currently tied for 16th, while Michael Kim (72-70 - 142, +2) is tied for 63rd and Michael Weaver tied for 110th (74-71 - 145, +5).
Homa had the round of the day for the Bears with his five-under par 65 tied for the third best by the first half of the field and equaling the lowest round ever shot by a Cal player at the NCAA Championship, matching the five-under par 65 shot by Jeff Hood in the first round when Cal won its lone NCAA title in 2004. Homa was eight-under par through 15 holes with eight birdies and no bogeys before a bogey on the par-four 16th and a double bogey on the par-four 18th brought him back to five-under par for both the round and the tournament. Homa's team-high eight birdies came on a pair of par-fives (4, 12), four par-fours (1, 2, 5, 7) and two par-threes (13, 15).
Hagy and Stalter both broke par for the second consecutive round.
Hagy posted a one-under par 69 that included five birdies on the fifth, seventh, 10th, 12th and 17th holes. All of his birdie holes were par-fours other than the par-five 12th. Hagy's four bogeys all came on par-fours (9, 14, 16, 18).
Stalter had the team's second-best round of the day behind Homa with a two-under par 68 that included a hot streak in the middle when he posted five birdies over a seven-hole stretch. Stalter birdied the par-four seventh and eighth holes in back-to-back fashion. After making two consecutive pars on the par-four ninth and 10th holes, he ran off three birdies in a row with one of each variety on the par-four 11th, par-five 12th and par-three 13th. He gave two strokes back with back-to-back bogeys on the par-four 14th and par-three 15th holes and also had a bogey on the par-three third.
Kim was three-under par and playing bogey-free golf until a double on 16 and a bogey on 18. His three birdies came on the fifth hole and then back-to-back on the 11th and 12th.
Weaver's round was discarded for the second consecutive day despite a respectable one-over par 71 with one birdie on the fifth and a pair of bogeys on the 10th and 16th.
A full recap will follow.
