Gani Piñero/GoldenBearSports.com/Courtesy

For most teams, winning a golf tournament without a top player is inconceivable. For the Cal men’s golf team, the top player happens to be the 2012-13 National Player of the Year, Michael Kim. But the Cal men’s golf team is no ordinary team.

The Bears came into the Alister MacKenzie Invitational on Monday and Tuesday at the Sonoma Golf Club in Sonoma, Calif., nowhere close to 100 percent. Kim sat out due to illness, and the recently crowned Pac-12 player of the month, Brandon Hagy (70-64-72 – 206, -10), was playing through a foot injury. Despite this, Cal (268-273-284 – 825, -39) had three players in the top five once again, leading to a dominant victory.

“It’s very clear that we have seven or eight players that can play at the highest levels in college,” said coach Steve Desimone. “It gives us confidence and security that we can move down through the lineup and not drop off.”

Led by Joel Stalter (64-69-70 – 203, -13) who took home top individual honors, Cal rolled over second-place UC Davis (286-284-277 – 847, -17) by an overwhelming margin of 22 strokes. Oregon State (287-283-280 – 850, -14) and No. 21 Arizona State (281-281-289 – 851, -13) stayed true to their rankings, placing third and fourth, respectively.

Numerous Cal players have stepped up their play over the course of the season. Last week, Hagy led the Bears to victory with a first-place finish at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational. This week, it was Kim’s replacement and another All-American, Stalter. Stalter got off to a hot start, drilling five consecutive birdies. He proceeded to hit back-to-back birdies on the par-4 ninth and 10th holes, giving him a 64-stroke first-round performance, one stroke shy of his collegiate best.

Stalter’s second round featured four birdies and only one bogey, giving him the lead going into the second day of play ahead of teammates Hagy and Pace Johnson (66-68-71 – 205, -11) by one stroke. He began the third round shakily with a bogey on the first hole, but he followed it up with back-to-back birdies on the par-4 second hole and par-5 third hole. Although he hit only two more birdies, along with a bogey, he finished the round with a score of 70, giving him the first-place finish.

“I was just really consistent, and my putting was really good, so that helped me score,” Stalter said. “But I was driving the ball really well, too, so that helped me get in good position.”

Johnson’s first round was the model of consistency, featuring six birdies with no bogeys. His second round was almost as impressive, with five birdies and only one bogey, on the par-4 sixth hole. But his second day of play was not nearly as steady; he posted only four birdies, with a bogey and a double-bogey on the par-3 14th hole.

Hagy continued the excellent play that won him the Pac-12 Player of the Month award. After a subpar first round, he played one of the best stretches of golf in his collegiate career, starting with an eagle on the par-5 eighth hole. He went on to nail three consecutive birdies starting on the 10th hole and back-to-back birdies on the par-4 14th hole and par-5 15th hole. His back nine featured five birdies and no bogeys.

“They do so many things well, but overall, it was not a great ball-striking performance,” Desimone said. “We did have a great short game and really good putting, though.”

In the lineup for the first time in two years was Keelan Kilpatrick (76-72-72 – 220, +4), who failed to produce for Cal. He came in at 48th place and suffered from a horrid first round featuring seven bogeys.

Michael Weaver (68-73-71 – 212, -4) finished in 12th place after playing at par in the second and third rounds. He played his best in the first round, highlighted by his four birdies, including an eagle on the par-4 11th hole.

“We have five, six guys that can win a golf tournament, so we’re really deep,” Stalter said. “That’s our biggest strength, and that’s why we’re ranked so high.”

Winston Cho covers golf. Contact him at wcho@dailycal.org

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Winning is not foreign to the Cal men’s golf team. Coming off of one of the most successful seasons in college golf history allowed the team to have tremendous confidence coming into the new year. Add the top player this year receiving a tremendous accolade last week and a huge victory in the team’s most recent tournament. There is clearly no denying that the Bears have it in themselves to win. The team will try to use this to its advantage when it hosts the Alister Mackenzie Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.

Cal will be hosting its only tournament of the season in Sonoma, Calif., at the Sonoma Golf Club. The tournament consists of 16 teams on a 7,103-yard course that is par-72. Teams taking part in the tournament include Pac-12 foes No. 23 Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon and Oregon State. Also competing in the event are local rivals USF, Fresno State and San Jose State.

Hosting the tournament adds a level of ease that makes it unique from any other.

“(Having) friendly faces at the tournament just makes you that more comfortable,” said senior Brandon Hagy.

The Bears are ranked No. 4 in the country, despite a dominant win a couple of weeks ago at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational in Ohio (281-280-281 – 842, -10). Cal finished the event 19 strokes ahead of second-place Oklahoma (No. 12).

Individually, Hagy (71-67-69 -207-6) ended the event in first place. His performance from that tournament and other tournaments this season led to him being named the Pac-12 Men’s Golfer of the Month for September. Hagy is the sixth Cal player in a row to receive this honor. He has a 69.4-stroke average and has medaled in each of the tournaments he has played in this season.

“The Pac-12 is the best golf conference in the country, so any time you win an award like that in a conference that is so competitive, it shows that a lot of the hard work I am putting in is paying off,” Hagy said.

Despite the confidence Cal feels coming into the event, the team will have some obstacles to overcome. Hagy is coming into the tournament at less than 100 percent after injuring his foot Wednesday night. Michael Kim was ill coming into the weekend and is unable to play in the tournament. Not having these top players in optimal health hurts the team.

“We have a lot of really good players on this team, but to lose last year’s National Player of the Year, the reigning Pac-12 player of the year and arguably the No. 1 player in the country, you got both of those guys out of your lineup — those are big holes to fill,” said head coach Steve Desimone.

Additionally, the Bears are hosting the event at the Sonoma Golf Club, as opposed to hosting it at the Meadow Club in Fairfax, Calif., where the tournament was held from 2002 to 2007 and 2009 to 2012. The team is not as familiar with this course, which may reduce the advantage of hosting the event.

Despite all of this, Desimone still has high expectations.

“I have a great deal of confidence they will be ready to go come Monday morning,” he said.

No matter what conditions the team plays in, confidence will be the key to victory.

Alaina Getzenberg covers golf. Contact her at agetzenberg@dailycal.org

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Victoria Chow/File

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 wcho@dailycal.org

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Cal Athletics/Courtesy

After an underwhelming showing at the Gopher Invitational to tee off the 2013-14 season, No. 1 Cal rebounded with a strong effort to place first at the St. Mary’s Invitational at the Bayonet and Black Horse Golf Courses in Seaside, Calif., on Monday and Tuesday. Not only did Cal win — it crushed the competition (288-282-284 – 854, -10), leaving no doubt it is the best team in the country. The win puts Cal back on track for another Pac-12 title.

After struggling without Michael Kim and Michael Weaver two weeks prior, the Bears scored an overwhelming 30 shots lower than second-place Oregon (297-293-294 – 884, +20). Among other notable teams that competed were No. 25 St. Mary’s (294-294-301 – 889, +25) and San Diego (304-287-295 – 886, +22).

“Our hope is to try and get better with each tournament,” said associate head coach Walter Chun. “Our ultimate goal is to defend our Pac-12 title but also to try and win the state championship.”

Led by the senior Weaver (70-70-70 – 210, -6) who played consistently well each round on the par-72 courses, Cal dominated from start to finish, shooting at or below par in all three rounds of play. Weaver drilled five birdies in the first round and followed his excellent play with seven in the second round. But his double bogey on the par-5 eighth hole severely hurt his lead over Grant Forrest of San Diego State (71-69-69 – 209, -7) who beat Weaver by one stroke.

Forrest was tied with Weaver going into the final day of play, with senior Brandon Hagy (71-71-69 – 211, -5) trailing by two strokes. Weaver held a one-stroke lead over Forrest after two birdies on the 10th and 11th holes. Forrest then birdied the par-3 17th and par-5 18th holes to clinch the game, narrowly beating Weaver.

“I thought I played well and had a good start,” Hagy said. “I hit the ball well and didn’t have any bogeys.”

Cal had three of the top-10 golfers, with junior Michael Kim (78-68-72 – 218, +2) joining Weaver and Hagy. Kim struggled in the first round, racking up five bogeys and two double bogeys. The All-American bounced back in the second round, however, shooting four under par. This, along with his par performance in the third round, gave Kim a relatively disappointing eighth-place finish.

Ringing out the bottom for Cal, Shotaro Ban (69-73-78 – 220, +4) shot an impressive 69 the first round but got progressively worse as the tournament wore on. He had five bogeys in the third round alone, including a double bogey on the par-4 ninth hole. Pace Johnson (71-76-73 – 220, +4) played a well-balanced game and tied with Ban for a 12th-place finish.

“They played great. It was a team effort from top to bottom,” Chun said. “They just played well.”

Winston Cho covers men’s golf. Contact him at wcho@dailycal.org.

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Cal’s Michael Kim fell just short of winning the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship on Saturday.

Kim went up against Jordan Niebrugge in the finals and immediately birdied the first hole to put himself in the lead. However, Niebrugge took the second hole, and the match was tied.

From then on, Kim fell behind. With 10 holes left, he was four holes back. It looked like a comeback would be impossible.

Then, the impossible began to happen.

The 36-hole match dragged on with Kim trailing. Niebrugge was playing nearly mistake-free; he didn’t hit a bogey in the first 30 holes. But on 13 — and the 31st hole of the match — he hit his first bogey. The race was on.

Kim started to slowly make up ground against Niebrugge, and the margin was soon at just one hole.

When the final hole came around, Kim was just one back. Tension hung in the air.

However, Kim’s fairway shot landed in the water hazard, and he had to take a penalty. Niebrugge, who was playing more conservatively, had no such problems. When he made par, the match was over, and Kim conceded defeat.

Kim was disappointed but not bitter.

“I just have to keep improving, and we’ll see what happens next year,” he said after the match.

Cal women’s basketball releases nonconference schedule

If there was any doubt about it before, let there be none now — the Cal women’s basketball team is an elite squad.

The team recently released its 2013-14 schedule, and the nonconference games are a doozy.

Cal plays both UConn and Duke, the two teams that are projected to start the year ranked at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively. And the Huskies are the defending national champions. Other squads, like Georgetown, Pacific and Northwestern, will also not be easy matches.

The schedule reflects the changing identity that the Cal women’s basketball team has, as all the top teams want to play each other. It is now clear that Cal has earned that reputation among colleges across the country, no doubt due in large part to their Final Four appearance last season.

Though the schedule may be tough, it gives the Bears a chance to prove themselves as one of the top teams in the country. After all, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.

Muhammad wins Cal-Hi Athlete of the Year for second year in a row

Cal football recruit Khalfani Muhammad just completed a feat that has not been accomplished for 109 years.

Muhammad was named the Cal-Hi Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row, something not done since 1904.

He also was only the third sprinter in state history to win state championships in the 100- and 200-meter sprints for two years running, an achievement that no doubt contributed to the award.

Muhammad will play running back for the Bears in the fall as a freshman.

The post Sports in Brief — July 22, 2013 appeared first on The Daily Californian.

Dan Avila/Courtesy

In any other year, Cal rugby would have taken the spot as the best Cal sport. It’s hard to argue with a track record that includes 26 championships since 1980.

But not this year.

The Cal men’s golf team had one of the greatest seasons of all time. In any sport. Ever.

The team’s 11 tournament wins are the most in collegiate golf history, breaking a record that has stood since the 1970s. There are only 13 tournaments in the entire year. The team dominated the rankings, remaining at the No. 1 spot in the country for nearly the entire season.

It’s hard to even fathom those numbers, much less argue against them.

And the squad was loaded with star power. Michael Kim won the Haskins award and the Jack Nicklaus award, each naming him the top golfer in the country. The rising junior was also ranked at the top spot by Golfweek and had the lowest stroke average in the country heading into the NCAA championship.

Then there are Michael Weaver, Joel Stalter and Max Homa — who rank at No. 11, No. 12 and No. 13, respectively. And let’s not forget Brandon Hagy at No. 19. Rankings aren’t everything, of course, but that kind of depth is unbelievable. Only Alabama can come close in numbers, and the Crimson Tide went 0-4 against the Bears in the regular season.

The only black mark on the team, of course, was the NCAA Championship. The Bears were the overwhelming favorite going into the title event but ended with just a fourth-place finish.

Tears were shed. Ultimately, a historic season ended with an equally historic upset.

Often, that is the way sports go. Upsets happen. It might sound like a cliche, but that is why they play the games.

But this is not the same. The men’s golf team did not get upset — they got screwed.

The golf team’s season is not analogous to the season of the 2007 Patriots, who went undefeated in the regular season only to lose the Super Bowl. Nor is it similar to the season of the 2001 Seattle Mariners, who won as many games as any baseball team ever only to be upended by the Yankees in the ALCS.

Those teams lost fair and square, but the Cal men’s golf team suffered their fate due to an unfair system. Though the regular season for golf uses stroke-play events, the NCAA Championship switches to match-play. Match-play events can, ultimately, be more exciting to watch by leading to improbable upsets. But those upsets come at the integrity of the game, which should be designed to reward those teams that are the best.

And the men’s golf squad was undeniably that — the best. Why else would awards, like coach Steve Desimone’s coach of the year award, keep flooding in even after they lost at the NCAAs?

So screw the NCAAs. The Cal men’s golf team is already looking to the future, confident in the knowledge that the team’s 2013 effort was one of the best ever.

Sure, losing Homa, the team’s only senior, will hurt. He is a tough piece to replace. But the team last year was already so far above its competitors that there is no reason next year can’t result in the capture of that elusive championship.

Contact Riley McAtee at rmcatee@dailycal.org. Follow him on Twitter @riley_mcatee

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In mid-June, three Cal players took part in the U.S. Open. Michael Kim was able to shine not just among the Bears competing but among the entire field as a whole when he shot up to a tie for third place on Saturday. He finished the tournament at 10 over, making him the low amatuer. Kim spoke to The Daily Californian about his experience at the U.S. Open and about the Cal men’s golf team’s season in general.

On his goals going into the U.S. Open:

My goal was to just make the cut. Merion is a tough course, so I was hoping to just be able to play on Saturday. So I didn’t have a big goal like winning or anything like that. I just wanted to make the cut. And yeah, it felt great once I made it.

On whether nerves affected his play:

Not really. Mostly, I was just focused on my game. I was trying to just have fun and play it like I would any other course. I didn’t feel nervous at the time, but looking back on it now, I probably was. I was trying to just be patient and play well, and I don’t think nerves really had a huge impact.

On his thoughts when he saw his name in a tie for third on the leaderboard:

It was really cool. I just remember thinking that it was really cool. I looked up and saw my name with Mickelson and Donald and other great golfers. And yeah, I don’t know what else to say, except it was just really cool.

On the difficulty of Merion:

I remember thinking in the practice rounds, “Wow, this course is tough.” It might be shorter, but the fairways are narrow, and it’s just hard. And then I got out there on Thursday and was hitting the right shots. But it was always tough. Merion is tough. So it was challenging, but it was also a lot of fun.

On being paired with Rickie Fowler, a golfer who also burst onto the national scene at a young age, on Sunday:

Rickie was focused on his own game, and so was I. We talked a little but not too much. He didn’t really offer any amazing advice.

On the Cal men’s golf team’s season being cut short:

The NCAAs were a disappointment for us, but we still had a great season. It isn’t a huge takeaway from what we accomplished because we know that we were the best team.

On his goals for the future:

The NCAA Championship. We are losing Max (Homa), but I think we can still do it. Definitely the NCAAs.

Contact Riley McAtee at rmcatee@dailycal.org. Follow him on Twitter @riley_mcatee

The post Q&A with Cal men’s golf’s Michael Kim appeared first on The Daily Californian.

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As Michael Kim stood on the 15th green at the U.S. Open on Saturday, the Cal men’s golfer glanced up at the leaderboard and smiled.

The 19-year-old rising junior wasn’t looking to see where his four birdies in the past six holes put him up on the board. He wasn’t grinning because he was tied at third place among a 156-player field and had a legitimate chance at contention.

“I kept looking at the leaderboard — not because I wanted to know how I was doing in the tournament, but it was so cool to see my name next to those names, like Mickelson, Donald, Schwartzel,” Kim said in a post-round interview with Bob Costas. “It was just an incredible feeling.”

The humble amateur golfer completed an impressive run at the 2013 U.S. Open this past weekend at the Merion Golf Club near Ardmore, Pa. Kim finished the tournament at No. 17 and as the low amateur after reaching as high as third place on the overall leaderboard on Saturday.

After a respectable first two days of the major tournament, Kim made the cut tied for No. 8 on the scoreboard, while Cal teammate Michael Weaver barely passed the cut line at eight over to enter the third round.

While Weaver struggled with several bogeys on Saturday, Kim peaked in his third round, shooting one bogey but later consistently hitting par.

After the ninth hole, Kim shot four birdies in a six-hole stretch to take him to even par in the overall tournament. Just one shot back of the lead, Kim was momentarily near the top of the U.S. Open leaderboard.

But his position atop the board was short-lived — the Southern California native snap-hooked his tee shot on No. 16 to the left, finding the rough and making a bogey. Kim then accumulated a double bogey on the 17th hole and another bogey on the last hole to end the third round.

Kim slipped from third place to 10th place to complete the third day, shooting one over to sit at five shots behind leading pro Phil Mickelson.

“I didn’t feel that nervous, but I think I was, looking back on it,” Kim said. “I kind of went through that what-if situation in my head. What if I won, or what if I did this. I tried to snap back out of it, but I hit an awful tee shot on the next hole.”

On the last day, although Kim managed to post two birdies, he struggled with his tee shots and hit several in the rough to garner four bogeys and two double bogeys throughout round four. But the rising Cal junior is ultimately proud of his overall No. 17 performance at the major tournament — the third-best finish by an amateur in the last 30 years.

“I had a difficult ending, but the overall week, it’s just been an unbelievable experience,” Kim said. “I think I gained a lot of confidence from that. I met a ton of great players out here, and (I’m) just looking forward to what my future holds. It’s just an experience I’ll never forget.”

Contact Janice Chua at jchua@dailycal.org.

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Cal men’s golf sophomore Michael Kim is dominating the likes of Tiger Woods and many other golf pros at the 2013 U.S. Open.

The Bears’ top player currently stands tied at the No. 8 position among more than 150 amateur and professional golfers known around the world. On the amateur leaderboard, Kim is ranked in second place — just behind Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan.

At the Merion Golf Club near Ardmore, Pa., Kim ended his first round on Thursday with a respectable 73 strokes. Although he accumulated five bogeys and even a double bogey on the second hole, Kim managed to gain four birdies to complete his first 18 holes, shooting only three over par.

In the second round on Friday, Kim started with three shots on par and a bogey but later garnered three birdies to put him at just two shots behind professionals Billy Horschel and Phil Mickelson, who are currently tied for first place.

With Friday play suspended due to darkness, Kim will finish the rest of his second round on Saturday morning at 7:15 a.m. Although senior teammate Max Homa will likely not advance to the final two rounds of the tournament with the projected cut at eight-over as of now, Cal’s Michael Weaver is straddling the projected cut line of eight-over par and may still advance.

Kim, on the other hand, will most likely make the final cut, but the superstar golfer plans on waiting to see how his performance turns out on the third day.

“(I’m) trying not to think about it too much,” Kim said. “Low expectations — and whatever happens happens tomorrow.”

Contact Janice Chua at jchua@dailycal.org.

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John Todd/GoldenBearSports.com/Courtesy

The Cal men’s golf team will send an unprecedented three players to the U.S. Open this weekend.

Michael Kim, Max Homa and Michael Weaver will represent the Bears in the prestigious tournament at the Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania, where they will play alongside the best golfers in the world. Kim and Homa earned their spots in the sectional qualifying rounds, while Weaver was previouly guaranteed a spot as the 2012 U.S. Amateur runner-up. This is the first time in U.S. Open history that a single college has sent three players to the tournament.

The Merion Golf Club features the shortest course for the U.S. Open in more than a decade. But that does not make it easy.

“During the practice round, all I could think was how hard this course is,” Kim said. “But everybody is playing the same golf course. And I don’t think (the scores) will be as low as everyone is thinking.”

The short course could actually help Kim, who says that hitting fairways and greens is his strong point. Meanwhile Weaver, who played in the Masters earlier this year, echoed Kim’s concerns about the difficulty of the course.

“I know it will be difficult,” Weaver said. “So I just want to go out there and enjoy the experience.”

All three will play in the first two rounds on Thursday and Friday. After that, it remains to be seen whether their scores will make the cut to play on the final two days.

Regardless of what happens, all three Bears are excited to be in the field at one of golf’s most exclusive tournaments.

“Tomorrow will be a blast and a dream come true,” Homa said. “I can’t wait to get out there.”

The tournament will be broadcast on ESPN each day from 6 a.m. to noon and on NBC from noon to 2 p.m.

Contact Riley McAtee at rmcatee@dailycal.org

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