Hale, Stephen! Bears Ride Individual Title to Sixth Place Finish

After seeing Stephen Hale win the individual title at the John Burns Intercollegiate in Oahu, Hawaii, his teammates had just one thing to say about the freshman's performance:

"It's Hale-ing!"

In only his sixth collegiate tournament, Hale beat out 110 other golfers to take the championship. He shot a 201 over the course of the three day, 54-hole tournament to post the Cal men's golf team's first individual tournament title since fall 2006.

Hale also recorded the best overall score of any Bears golfer in the past five years.

"I was playing well," Hale said. "I guess you could say I was in the zone. It was one of those tournaments where things were just going right for me."

Hale fired a 67 on the par-72 Leilehua Golf Course each day, posting seven birdies in each round. His final score of 15-under was two strokes lower than his nearest competitor.

"Every shot was important," Hale said. "You have to be careful of what you do because one little mistake can affect you."

Although Hale's standout individual performance was the highlight of the tournament for Cal, coach Steve Desimone had more to say about the team as a whole than about his young ace.

"We needed to play well," Desimone said. "Stephen carried us, but everyone contributed. We had another good, solid final round, which is what you need to do to succeed."

The Bears finished in sixth place overall with a score of 843 (21-under par). Cal moved up in the standings each day of the tournament in a loaded field that included No. 15 Auburn and No. 24 UNLV.

The eventual winner, the Tigers, set a tournament record with a sweltering 44-under par.

"We played great," Desimone said. "It's no surprise when your short game and your putting game are on. When you do those things right, you're going to do well. Things are starting to come together nicely for us. We keep closing the gap."

Senior Brandon Beck, who missed the fall season due to illness, had his strongest showing since returning.

He lowered his score in each round, landing a 65th-place tie with teammate Eric Mina. All-American candidate George Gandranata once again proved that he is one of Cal's most consistent golfers by ending the event 2-under par, good enough for a tie for 34th place.

After their solid showing at the John Burns Intercollegiate, the Bears used their remaining time in Oahu to relax and enjoy the island's famous beaches. In the midst of the sun and surf, however, Desimone still had his eye on the upcoming matches of the Bears' spring campaign.

"Our ultimate goal is Purdue (site of the NCAA Championships)," Desimone said. "But our immediate goal is Washington, at the (NCAA Western) Regionals. We're playing better ball. This was a step in the right direction."

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