Jan. 31, 2011

Live Scoring

Day, Date - Event - Location (Course) - Host School - Start Time
Mon., Jan. 31 - Arizona Intercollegiate - Tucson, AZ (Arizona National Golf Club - Arizona - 8 a.m. MST/7 a.m. PST
Tue., Feb. 1 - Arizona Intercollegiate - Tucson, AZ (Arizona National Golf Club) - Arizona - 8 a.m. MST/7 a.m. PST

CAL BEGINS SPRING SEASON AT ARIZONA INTERCOLLEGIATE
Cal begins the spring portion of its 2010-11 season when the Golden Bears play in a 16-team field at the Arizona Intercollegiate this Monday-Tuesday, Jan. 31 - Feb. 1. The first major college golf event of the 2011 spring season is a 54-hole tournament to be played over two days at the par-71, 6,793-yard Arizona National Golf Club in Tucson, Ariz. Tee times began each day at 8 a.m. MST/7 a.m. PST. There will be 36 holes of continuous play on the opening day Monday before the event concludes with 18 holes on Tuesday.

FOLLOW THE 2011 ARIZONA INTERCOLLEGIATE ONLINE
The 2011 Arizona Intercollegiate can be followed online by visiting CalBears.com, which will link to live stats supplied by golfstat.com and includes the Bear Blog which will be updated periodically throughout the event. A recap and complete results at the end of each day's action will also be available by visiting CalBears.com.

DEFENDING ITS TITLE
Cal is looking to defend its 2010 team title at the Arizona Intercollegiate when the Bears made up an amazing 12 shots over the final four holes to edge host Arizona by a single shot. Cal's four scoring players on the 18th hole were five-under par with three birdies and an Eric Mina eagle. However, Mina is the only player from last year's Cal lineup at the event returning in 2011. He finished tied for fifth a year ago at seven-under par.

NO. 13/19 RANKED BEARS LEAD 16-TEAM FIELD
Cal is the top ranked team in the 2011 Arizona Intercollegiate as the Bears open the spring at No. 13 by Golfweek and No. 19 according to Golfstat. San Diego State is the other top-25 team in the field, with the Aztecs currently Golfweek's No. 14 team and three spots ahead of the Bears in the Golfstat poll at No. 16. Both teams also finished the fall season in the top 25 of the Golf World/Nike Golf Division I Coaches' Poll, with the Bears at No. 14 and the Aztecs at No. 16. Pepperdine (No. 37 Golfweek, No. 45 Golfstat) is also a current top-50 team. Host Arizona (two squads), Brigham Young, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, Fresno State, Hartford, New Mexico, Pacific, Texas-El Paso, Texas-San Antonio and Utah make up the remainder of the field.

BEAR LINEUP
Cal's lineup in order for the 2011 Arizona Intercollegiate (with current national rankings according to Golfweek and Golfstat, 2010-11 season stroke average)

1. Max Homa (No. 90, No. 186, 71.73)
2. Jeff Hamm (NR, NR, First Event)
3. Joël Stalter (NR, NR, First Event)
4. Ben An (No. 47, No. 97, 71.13)
5. Eric Mina (No. 168, NR, 72.80)

LINEUP CHANGES
Cal's lineup for its first event of the 2011 spring season will include a pair of golfers making their season debuts in the second and third spots in the lineup in Jeff Hamm and Joël Stalter. Now a fourth-year junior, Hamm was last in the Bears' lineup when he competed in two events as a redshirt freshman in 2008-09. The true freshman Stalter will be seeing his first action at Cal. The Bears used only seven players in the fall of 2010, with Ben An, Max Homa, Eric Mina and Michael Weaver each playing in all five events. Stephen Hale also participated in four of the five, with Jamie Coré making the lineup once. Homa, An and Mina will play in the first, fourth and fifth spots for the spring opener.

FALL 2010 CAL TOURNAMENT RECAPS

OCT. 24-26, 2010 - CAL EIGHTH AT U.S. COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP
Cal finished the fall portion of its 2010-11 season by taking eighth place at the U.S. Collegiate Championship played at The Golf Club of Georgia's 7,017-yard, par-72 Lakeside Course. Host Georgia Tech (271-285-280 - 836, -28) won the tournament going away, finishing a school and tournament-record 27 shots ahead of its closest competitor and Golfweek's top-ranked team UCLA (286-287-290 - 863, -1). Cal entered the event with two consecutive tournament victories but was never in contention to make it three in a row as Georgia Tech set a tournament record with a first-round 17-under par 271 during the first round to take a commanding 13-shot lead over the entire field and were 20 shots ahead of the Bears after the opening day. Cal (291-290-295 - 876, +12) began Tuesday's third and final round in fifth place and stayed near that spot on the leader board until struggling late in the round for the third consecutive day.

Georgia Tech's James White (62-70-72 - 204, -12) won individual medalist honors in a competition with a tournament-record performance that mirrored the team battle. White opened the event with a tournament record 10-under par round of 62 on Sunday to take a commanding seven-stroke lead after the first day and cruised home from there, going a combined two-under par over the final 36 holes and winning by five strokes over USC's T.J. Vogel (74-69-66 - 209, -7). Stephen Hale (72-73-73 - 218, +2) was Cal's top finisher in a tie for 17th place. Ben An (75-69-75 - 219, +3) tied for 20th in the final standings. Eric Mina (74-74-71 - 219, +3) had his best round of the tournament with a one-under par score that moved him up 13 spots to tie for 20th along with An. Max Homa (70-77-76 - 223, +7) was tied for seventh after an opening-round two-under par 70 before finishing tied for 33rd. Michael Weaver (75-74-76 - 225, +9) tied for 44th place in the final standings.

OCT. 18-19, 2010 - CAL WINS SECOND EVENT IN A ROW BY CAPTURING OWN THE ALISTER MACKENZIE INVITATIONAL
Cal held off a fierce charge from San Diego State en route to winning The Alister MacKenzie Invitational by two shots over the Aztecs in an event the Golden Bears hosted at the 6,708-yard, par-71 Meadow Club. Cal began the final 18 holes of the 54-hole event with a 10-stroke lead over San Diego State (267-271-276 - 806, -46) but the Aztecs had the best round of the day on Tuesday and gained eight shots on the Bears before falling just short. Oregon State (273-277-275 - 825, -27) was a distant third. The victory was the Bears second tournament win in a row. Cal won its previous outing October 10-12 at The Prestige at PGA WEST. Cal (262-266-276 - 804, -48) broke a 54-hole school record in the win and posted the top score in tournament history, blasting the previous record of 26-under par 826 held by the Bears since 2006. Cal won the annual event it has hosted each of the last eight seasons other than 2008 for the fifth time as the Bears were previous winners in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2009. Cal's first two rounds of 262 and 266 were both better than the tournament's previous single-round low of 268 established by Cal in 2006 and equaled by Washington in 2007. Ben An (65-64-69 - 198, -15) continued his tremendous play in his first collegiate season, tying for second at 15-under par 198 along with San Diego State's Todd Baek (67-65-66 - 198, -15). Both players were one stroke behind individual medalist Alex Kang (62-67-68 - 197, -16) of San Diego State. Stephen Hale (67-66-66 - 199, -14) took fourth overall. Max Homa (63-71-74 - 208, -5) had been tied for second one shot off the lead after a career-best eight-under par 63 in his first round but dropped back over the final two rounds and tied for 16th overall. Eric Mina (72-65-71 - 208, -5) tied for 16th in the tournament along with Homa, while Michael Weaver (67-73-70 - 210, -3) was tied for 29th in the final standings.

"It was a magnificent day here at Meadow Club," said Cal head coach Steve Desimone. "Both our team and San Diego State got off to good starts and there really wasn't much of a difference between the clubs for most of the day. We maintained our advantage of about 10 shots through the first 10-12 holes and then they really got going to close the gap to its final margin. We had a couple of good shots down the stretch and we needed every one. We battled and we were fortunate to win. San Diego State is tremendous, one of the best teams we've seen in a while. They did not back off one bit. They knew what they needed to do and they pushed us right to the limit. Fortunately we had enough to hold on."

OCT. 10-12, 2010 - CAL WINS THE PRESTIGE AT PGA WEST
Cal and Stanford entered the final round of action at The Prestige at PGA WEST at the 7,300-yard par-72 TPC Stadium Course tied for the team lead, with the Bears emerging victorious by three strokes over the Cardinal and Washington. The victory was Cal's first team wins in 2010-11 after the Golden Bears won a school-record-tying three regular-season events in 2009-10. Cal (286-289-289 - 864, E) put together three consistent rounds and was the only team not over par for the tournament. Stanford had posted the best round of the 54-hole event during Monday's second round with a seven-under par round of 281 to tie the Bears for the lead, but fell back to four-over par 292 on Tuesday to finish at three-over for the tournament. Ben An (70-73-68 - 211, -5) was Cal's top individual with a third-place overall finish and also had the Bears' top round in the final round with a two-under par 68. Stephen Hale (71-71-72 - 214, -2) played all three of his rounds either at or below par and finished tied for sixth overall. Max Homa (72-70-79 - 221, +5) had been tied for sixth at two-under par along with Hale after two rounds but shot a seven-over par 79 in his final round and finished tied for 23rd. Michael Weaver (76-75-73 - 224, +8) and Eric Mina (73-75-76 - 224, +8) tied for 32nd overall.

"It was a great day today," said Cal head coach Steve Desimone about the team's victory. "I'm really proud of our guys. They hung tough. We went up and down that scoreboard, and it was really intense. But, we managed to be steadier than the other teams. We did a lot of good things and were able to prevail."

SEPT. 26-27, 2010 - CAL TAKES THIRD AT WINDON MEMORIAL CLASSIC
Cal was in a battle for the team title at the Windon Memorial Classic throughout the third and final round at the 7,067-yard par 71 North Shore Country Club, before eventually placing third only two shots behind winner Michigan (285-287-282 - 854, +2). The nine-under par round shot by Ohio State (287-293-275 - 855, +3) in the final round also allowed the Buckeyes to also finish a single stroke ahead of Cal (301-273-282 - 856, +4). Two Golden Bears finished in the top six on the individual leader board, with Max Homa (77-65-69 - 211, -2) tying for fourth and Ben An (73-70-69 - 212, -1) tying for sixth. Both players posted a score of 69 in their third and final rounds for the second consecutive under-par round. Eric Mina (74-69-77 - 220, +7) had been tied for fifth heading into Monday's action but shot a six-over par 77 and finished tied for 36th. James Coré (77-81-75 - 233, +20) shot his best round of the tournament with a four-over par 75 that was included along with the three 69's in the team score Monday. His round included 15 pars, including 13 of the last 14 holes after he was three-over through three holes. He finished tied for 78th overall. Lion Kim (69-71-67 - 207, -6) won individual medalist honors while leading Michigan to the team title.

SEPT. 17-19, 2010 - CAL 12TH AT SEASON-OPENING OLYMPIA FIELDS/FIGHTING ILLINI INVITATIONAL
Cal shot its best round of the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational on the final day of action and moved up one spot to finish 12th in the final standings. The Golden Bears, who finished with a 35-over par team score of 875, had their nine-over par team score of 289 in the third and final round sparked by the play of Max Homa and Michael Weaver, who respectively shot rounds of two-under par 68 and even-par 70. Homa was Cal's top finisher in the event, tying for 11th overall at three-over par 213. In addition to his 68 on Sunday, he also had a 69 during Friday's opening round and was one of only three players including individual medalist Peter Uihlein of Oklahoma. Weaver moved up 13 spots in the final standings into a tie for 30th place at seven-over par 217 with a consistent final round that included 14 pars, two birdies (8, 16) and two bogeys (5, 15). Eric Mina fell 18 places to finish tied for 41st with a final-day seven-over par 77. Ben An finished tied for 66th in his collegiate debut with a 17-over par 54-hole total of 227, including a final round seven-over par 77. Stephen Hale had his best round of the tournament on Sunday with a four-over par 74 that included 14 pars and four bogeys. Hale finished tied for 68th at 18-over par 228.

2010-11 CAL GOLF OUTLOOK
Cal's 2010-11 team includes all five players that participated at the 2010 NCAA Championships in Brandon Hagy (redshirting in 2010-11), Stephen Hale, Max Homa, Eric Mina and Michael Weaver being joined by amateur standout Ben An. Weaver tied for sixth at the Pac-10's and was the top individual finisher for the Bears both at the NCAA Championships and the NCAA San Diego Regionals with an eighth-place finish at the latter. Mina became only the second player in the history of Cal men's golf to win the Pac-10 individual title when he captured 2010 medalist honors by coming back from four shots off the lead on the final day to finish 16-under par, capturing the crown by a single stroke over third-round leader Jesper Kennegard of Arizona State. Cal also had a school-record six players qualify for the 2010 U.S. Amateur, with An reaching the semifinals one year after becoming the youngest player to ever win the event at the age of 17 in 2009. An qualified for the 2010 semifinals by beating Homa in a quarterfinal match. The others to qualify for the 2010 U.S. Amateur were James Coré, Ben Mangum, Mina and John Murphy.

FRESHMAN BEN AN LlSTED AS NATION'S NO. 5 FRESHMAN
Golfweek listed Ben An as the nation's No. 5 incoming freshman prior to the season. An's pre-Cal career includes a strong showing the past two summers at the U.S. Amateur, when he became the youngest player to ever win the event in 2009 at the age of 17 and then followed that up by reaching the semfinalis of match play in 2010. An's 2009 victory allowed him to play all four of the PGA Tour's majors during 2010. He has three top-six finishes in his first five collegiate events, tying for second at The Alister MacKenzie Invitational and placing third at The Prestige at PGA West to lead Cal to victory at both events. He also after tied for sixth at the Windon Memorial Classic.

2009-10 CAL GOLF RECAP
The Cal men's golf team returned to the NCAA Championships for the first time in six years since winning the school's lone national title in 2004. The Bears finished 23rd in the event hosted by Tennessee-Chattanooga. The Bears qualified for the NCAA Championships after tying for third at the 2010 San Diego Regional hosted by San Diego State and was tied for sixth at the Pac-10 Championships to begin its postseason. During the regular season the Bears won a school-record-tying three tournaments over 11 outings. Cal captured the Spartan Golf Classic (Sept. 19-20) hosted by Michigan State and its own Alister MacKenize Invitational (Oct. 12) in the fall of 2009. Cal then started the spring portion of its schedule with a victory at the Arizona Intercollegiate (Feb. 1-2) hosted by Arizona. The Bears finished in the top four in seven of the 11 regular-season events they played, also taking second at the USC Collegiate Invitational (Mar. 1-2), tying for third at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate (Feb. 17-19) hosted by Hawai'i, placing fourth at the season-opening Golfweek Conference Challenge (Aug. 30 - Sept. 1) hosted by Iowa and fifth at the National Invitational Tournament (Mar. 17-18) hosted by Arizona, in addition to the three tournament victories.

COACHING STAFF
Cal men's golf has made amazing strides since Steve Desimone (Cal, 1970) began his tenure as head coach in the spring of 1980, evolving from a club sport into one of the elite varsity golf programs in the country in the 1990's before winning the NCAA title in 2004. Now in his 32nd season at the helm of Cal golf, Desimone was inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America's prestigious Hall of Fame in December of 2010 during the organization's annual Hall of Fame Reception and Awards Banquet in Las Vegas.

"There are a lot of great people and great coaches in college golf's Hall of Fame, and many of them are the ones who really built college golf into the great sport that it is today," said Desimone regarding his induction. "To be included in that group makes me smile and is something that will stay with me forever.

Desimone is largely responsible for the level of success enjoyed by the program. He was named Golfweek's 2003-04 College Coach of the Year and was presented with the 2004 Grand Master of the Year award by the Northern California Golf Association after leading the Golden Bears to the 2004 national title. Cal returned to the NCAA Championships in 2010 after a five-year absence following their national championship in 2004. Under Desimone the Bears have been to six NCAA Championship events (1995, '98, '99, 2000, '04, '10) and 15 NCAA Regionals (1990, '93, '95, '97, '98, '99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '07, '08, '09, '10). He was voted Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year in 1987. A member of the Cal basketball team, Desimone graduated from Cal in 1970.

Walter Chun (Cal, 2001) is in his seventh season on the Bears coaching staff and his second in his current role of associate head coach. Chun, who spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Cal from 2004-09, was named the 2008 Jan Strickland Award winner honoring best assistant coach in the nation.

Gene Bakkum is in his seventh season as a volunteer assistant coach with the program.