Last season’s National Player of the Year, Michael Kim (72-76-70 – 218, +5), had 11 bogeys in the first two rounds alone, capping off a miserable first day of play. All-American Michael Weaver (71-73-73 – 217, +4) did not fare much better, with 10 bogeys and two double-bogeys.
Despite this, Cal (281-280-281 – 842, -10) rolled over the competition to place first at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational at the Scarlet Golf Course in Dublin, Ohio, on Sunday and Monday. Cal relied on a strong team performance, with four players placing in the top 10. Leading was Brandon Hagy (71-67-69 – 207, -6), who took home top individual honors for the second time in his career.
Cal continued its dominant streak, trouncing the second-place team, Oklahoma (293-298-286 – 877, +25), by 19 strokes after a similarly impressive performance at the St. Mary’s Invitational, where the team won by 30 strokes. This win is the 20th time in the last 31 tournaments dating back to the 2011-12 season that Cal has taken first place in a stroke-play event. No. 23 Kent State (288-282-284 – 854, -10) and No. 24 Mississippi State (300-292-299 – 891, +39) finished fourth and sixth, respectively, while the host team, Ohio State (299-299-301 – 899, +47), took eighth place.
“The greens were very tough,” said coach Steve Desimone. “You just got to play the entire game.You gotta hit it, chip it and putt it well. You name it: You got to do it. You have to have depth in your game.”
Hagy, who has placed in the top three in each tournament this year, continued his excellent play by drilling 12 birdies over three rounds. He finished the first round at par but followed it up with a score of 67 in the second round, tied for the lowest score of the day. He nailed back-to-back birdies on the par-5 12th and par-3 13th holes. Hagy capped off his tournament-leading play with a 69-stroke performance in the third and final round, good enough for first-place honors.
“I read the greens well, and my speed was really good the whole day,” Hagy said. “The putts I made were all kind of falling with good speed.”
Shotaro Ban (68-72-72 – 212, -1) had the best first round of all the Bears, with a 68-stroke performance, highlighted by five consecutive birdies from the fourth to eighth holes. But his back nine were not nearly as good, as he had a bogey and a double-bogey on the par-4 11th hole.
Pace Johnson (71-68-70 – 209, -4) had the best finish of his collegiate career, with a third-place finish, and shot consistently well each round, topping off an impressive three rounds of play with 14 birdies, including back-to-back birdies in the first and third round. He held the lead over Taylor Pendrith (67-73-68 – 208, -5) of Kent State going into the third round. Johnson nearly took second-place honors, but Pendrith hit consecutive birdies on the 12th, 13th and 14th holes, and Johnson finished poorly with bogeys on the two final holes.
“We did a lot of things right,” Desimone said. “We did what we needed to do. We executed beautifully. This was one of the good ones.”
Winston Cho covers golf. Contact him at [email protected]