March 7, 2013
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Day, Date – Event (Round) – Location (Course) – Host – Start Time
Fri., March 8 – Fresno State Lexus Classic (First Round) – Las Vegas, NV
(Southern Highlands Golf Club) – UNLV – 8 a.m. PT
Sat., March 9 – Fresno State Lexus Classic (Second Round) – Las Vegas, NV (Southern Highlands Golf Club) – UNLV – 8 a.m. PT
Sun., March 10 – Fresno State Lexus Classic (Third Round) – Las Vegas, NV (Southern Highlands Golf Club) – UNLV – 8 a.m. PT
CAL AT SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS COLLEGIATE MASTERS
No. 1 Cal will head a strong field that includes 12 of the top 13 teams in the country according to Golfstat at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters hosted by UNLV this Friday-Sunday, March 8-10. The 54-hole event with a five-player, count-four scoring format will take place at the 7,510-yard, par-72 Southern Highlands Golf Club in Las Vegas. Each of the field’s 15 teams will play 18 holes of golf each day, with the first tee times for each round starting at 8 a.m. PT. Players will tee off all three days from holes No. 1 and No. 10. Follow the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters live 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. A recap and complete results at the end of each day’s action will also be available by visiting CalBears.com.
BIG BREAK ON THE HORIZON
Cal will be out of competition for nearly four weeks following the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters during and surrounding the school’s spring break before returning to action April 5-7 at the Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational. The Golden Bears will finish regular-season play April 13-14 at the Western Intercollegiate before beginning post-season action.
SCHOOL-RECORD WIN AT FRESNO STATE LEXUS CLASSIC MAKES IT SEVEN OF EIGHT IN 2012-13
Cal set a single-season school record for victories with its most recent win at the Fresno State Lexus Classic. Cal has won seven tournaments in eight starts this season. In the fall, the Bears won the Gopher Invitational, before sharing the crown at the PING/Golfweek Preview with host Georgia Tech, and then capturing the inaugural Pac-12 Preview, the Alister MacKenzie Invitational and the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational. Cal opened spring action by taking third at the Arizona Intercollegiate to snap the streak before wins at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate and Fresno State Lexus Classic. Cal has now won an astonishing 13 of its last 22 events and finished in the top five in all of them since the beginning of the 2011-12 season.
2013 SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS COLLEGIATE MASTERS FIELD
No. 1 Cal leads a 15-team field that includes 12 of the top 13 teams in the nation according to Golfstat. No. 2 UCLA, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 New Mexico, No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 USC, No. 8 Florida, No. 9 Duke, No. 10 Georgia Tech, No. 11 Georgia, No. 12 Stanford and No. 13 Oklahoma State are also in the field, along with No. 28 Texas AM, No. 30 Oklahoma and No. 37 UNLV.
2013 SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS COLLEGIATE MASTERS WEATHER FORECAST
The weather forecast for the 2013 Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters looks to be a mixed bag. There is a 60% chance of rain with thunderstorms and windy conditions on Friday as well as a forecast for gusts up to 22 miles per hour out of the south, while the high temperature is only scheduled to reach 55 with a low of 44. Saturday’s conditions call for partly cloudy skies with a 20% chance of rain, winds out of the west/northwest up to 9 mph and temperatures of 64 for the high and 46 the low. Sunday has no rain in the forceast and a high temperature of 69 (low 45) but winds are scheduled to creep up to 13 mph out of the west.
CAL’S 2013 SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS COLLEGIATE MASTERS LINEUP
Cal’s lineup for the 2013 Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters is listed below along with each player’s 2012-13 number of stroke play events and rounds, stroke play averages for the 2012-13 season and Cal career, and current Golfweek and Golfstat national rankings.
Season Season Season Career Golfweek Golfstat No. Name Events Rounds Avg. Avg. Ranking Ranking 1. Michael Kim 8 24 69.8 70.8 1 2 2. Brandon Hagy 7 21 71.2 72.0 36 58 3. Michael Weaver 8 24 71.4 72.2 28 33 4. Joël Stalter 6 18 69.9 71.9 5 1 5. Max Homa 8 24 71.3 72.0 37 29 Click on each player's name above or viit the 2012-13 roster online at CalBears.com
for links to complete player bios
CAL’S HISTORY AT SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS COLLEGIATE MASTERS
Cal has played three times previously at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters including the most recent occasion in 2012 when the Bears started the final round with a six-shot lead but were unable to hold on and eventually finished second to host UNLV by a single stroke. All five players from the Cal’s 2012 lineup – Max Homa (T4th), Brandon Hagy (T8th), Keelan Kilpatrick (T15th), Joël Stalter (T15th) and Michael Kim (T33rd) – are still with the Golden Bears with all back in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters lineup in 2013 other than Kilpatrick. In 2011, Cal was third with Homa (T21st) and Michael Weaver (79th) the two current members of this year’s lineup to play in the 2011 event. Cal played the tournament for the first time in 2009 and finished 15th with nobody from this year’s team on the Cal roster in the lineup.
KIM AND STALTER BOTH CURRENTLY RANKED NO. 1 NATIONALLY, HOMA WAS ON TOP EARLIER
Cal heads into the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters with the nation’s top player in both the Golfweek and Golfstat polls in Michael Kim and Joël Stalter. Kim made the move to No. 1 on March 7 two days after winning the Fresno State Lexus Classic to give him a single-season school-record-tying three victories, all coming in his last four events. Cal now has five of the nation’s top 37 players according to Golfweek as last week’s No. 1 player Stalter now checks in at No. 5, while Michael Weaver (No. 28), Brandon Hagy (No. 36) and Max Homa (No. 37) are also listed. Golfstat’s most recent rankings were released on March 5 but do not include the team’s results at the Fresno State Lexus Classic. In addition to Stalter on top of those rankings, Kim (No. 2), Homa (No. 29), Weaver (No. 33) and (No. 58) are also listed. Homa was the nation’s top-ranked golfer in both sets of rankings in late September and early October of 2012. The trio represent the first three Cal players to ever be ranked No. 1.
FOUR CAL PLAYERS IN LATEST PALMER CUP RANKING
Four Cal players are listed on the latest Palmer Cup Ranking announced March 6. Michael Kim is the No. 1 ranked player for the United States, while Joël Stalter (France) is No. 4 on the European side. Michael Weaver (No. 5) and Brandon Hagy (No. 25) are also listed for the United States. Kim checks in with a .9992 percentage, while Stalter is at .9782, Weaver at .9863 and Homa at .9612. Max Homa had been ranked No. 25 the previous time the rankings were released on February 28, while Hagy is ranked for the first time in the spring. The Palmer Cup Ranking, which is in its first season of existence, will be updated again March 20, April 3 and April 17. The top six players in the April 17 ranking from both the United States and Europe will be automatically selected for the 2013 Palmer Cup, which will be held June 7-9 at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Del. The Palmer Cup pits teams of 10 collegiate players from the United States and Europe against each other in a match-play format. For more information on the event named after golfing legend Arnold Palmer visit palmercup.org.
2012-13 HONORS AND AWARDS
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 – Pac-12 Player of the Month (September 2012), The Ben Hogan Award Watch List
Michael Kim – Golfweek Player of the Week (February 4, 2013), Haskins Award Watch List (No. 1 Ranking), Pac-12 Player of the Month (October 2012), The Ben Hogan Award Watch List
Joël Stalter – Golfweek Player of the Week (February 26, 2013), Haskins Award Watch List (No. 3 Ranking), Pac-12 Player of the Month (February 2013)
Michael Weaver – The Ben Hogan Award Watch List
STALTER BECOMES THIRD STRAIGHT CAL PLAYER TO WIN PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE MONTH HONORS
Joël Stalter became the third player in as many selections from the No. 1 ranked Cal men’s golf team to win Pac-12 Golfer of the Month honors in 2012-13 when he was chosen for February of 2013. Stalter’s selection for the first month of the spring campaign follows the picks of teammates Max Homa (September 2012) and Michael Kim (October 2012) in the fall.
WEAVER INVITED TO 2013 MASTERS AND U.S. OPEN
Michael Weaver has an invitation to play both the Masters (April 11-14) and U.S. Open (June 13-16) in 2013 due to his runner-up finish at the 2012 U.S. Amateur. Weaver is scheduled to miss the final two regular-season events for Cal (Arizona State Thunderbird Invitational, Western Intercollegiate) to play in the Masters.
SIX INDIVIDUAL MEDALISTS FROM CAL IN LAST FIVE TOURNAMENTS
Cal has had six individual medalists over its last five events. Brandon Hagy started the string with a win at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational hosted by Cal before a victory by Michael 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 was an eight-stroke winner at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate. Kim extended the string when he captured the Fresno State Lexus Class for his third win in the last four events, tying Cal’s single-season individual victory record. Before the current stretch started Cal’s last individual victory came when Eric Mina won the 2010 Pac-10 Championship.
KIM WITH EIGHT OF CAL’S 26 TOP-10 INDIVIDUAL FINISHES
Michael Kim’s eight top-10 finishes in eight events leads Cal but four others have also finished in the top 10 for a total of 26 top-10 showings in 2012-13. Cal has had a season-high-tying four top-10 finisheRs in each of its last two tournaments at the Fresno State Lexus Classic and the John A. Burns Intercollegiate, including the top three in both events. Joël Stalter and Michael Weaver have each finished in the top 10 five times, while Brandon Hagy and Max Homa have four top-10 showings.
CAL AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
Cal leads the nation as of March 7, 2013, in seven of 14 team categories complied by Golfstat, including average score (71.22), versus par (-0.29), par-three scoring (3.09), par-five scoring (4.69), birdies (444), subpar strokes/round (3.84) and short game percentage (59.2%). The player rankings have not been updated since February 13, 2013. Cal’s complete national stroke-play stats and rankings can be found online at Golfstat.com.
TWO CAL PLAYERS IN THE 60’S
Michael Kim (69.8) and Joël Stalter (69.9) are currently engaged in a battle for the team’s lead in stroke average and are also attempting to complete the season with a stroke average under 70.
MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA ATTENTION ON THE GOLDEN BEARS
The Cal men’s golf program has been the subject of extensive media coverage in 2012-13, including national features by Global Golf Post, Golfweek, Golf World and the New York Times. The team’s story and individuals have also been prominently featured in the Fresno Bee and San Francisco Chronicle, as well as on Bay Area television stations KPIX 5 (CBS affiliate) and KGO 7 (ABC affiliate). The team also has active Twitter (@CalMensGolf) and Facebook (facebook.com/CalMensGolf) accounts.
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 and has his club ranked No. 1 in all national polls and off to the best start in school history with seven wins in its first eight tournaments to tie a school record for victories. Desimone directed Cal to an NCAA title in 2004 during one of the program’s eight NCAA Championship appearances, including a current school-record run of three in a row. Desimone’s teams have appeared in NCAA Regionals 17 times with a current run of six in a row that 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 51 career events. Here are some of his thoughts on …
The Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters
“We’ll have a great field at Southern Highlands and play a very challenging and demanding golf course. This is a critical tournament for us and a great time for us to be playing in this event. It will be 54 holes of tremendous golf.”
Cal’s school-record seventh victory at the Fresno State Lexus Classic
“We’ve won a national championship and done some tremendous things in the program but winning seven tournaments in a year is just unbelievable. It was just another wonderful performance by this great team and shows why it has been No. 1 almost the entire year. The guys just keep doing all the right things. Winning seven of our first eight tournaments you better believe I’ve pinched myself more than once. It’s absolutely unheard of. It just doesn’t happen in a sport like college golf.”
On the team’s depth
“There are just so many great players up and down the lineup. At any time any one of them can get going, and at times three, four or five of them can get going. That’s happened each of the last two tournaments. We basically have five No. 1 players.”
On being the No. 1 team in the country
“It’s great, it’s fun and it has expectations. We know that we’ve got people that want to be a part of what’s going on and knock us off. That was obvious in Tucson when New Mexico and TCU got us. But, I’d rather be in this position than anyplace else. It’s a real honor to be the No. 1 team in the country, make no mistake about it, and our job is to be there at the end of the season. There’s a lot of golf left to play.”
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 before finishing 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.
