Day 1 recap: Cal grabs early lead behind Max Homa's course-record round of 61
Results for Rounds 1 & 2 (PDF) |
Photos: [gallery columns="1" link="file" ids="205,194,196,201,191,200,202,199,203,204,195,192,193"]
LOS ANGELES - The California Golden Bears lived up to their No. 1 national ranking as they posted a 5-under 695 to take the team lead after 36 holes of the Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championship at The Los Angeles Country Club in Los Angeles. Cal senior Max Homa shot a 9-under 61 in the opening round to establish a new course record, a feat made more impressive by the fact that the first round scoring average was 73.29, more than three strokes above par. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"338","attributes":{}}]] "The course is playing tough today," said LACC director of golf Jim Schaeffer. "[Homa's] round is by far the best we've seen here in a long time. He broke the course record by one shot. He had nine birdies and no bogeys; that's extremely impressive." The Bears built a commanding lead after shooting a 12-under 338 during the morning round and weathered a 7-over 357 second-round to take a nine-stroke lead into the second day of the championship. UCLA, which posted a 4-over 174, sits in second, while Washington (9-over 709) is in third. Cal head coach Steve Desimone is confident his squad will bounce back after a shaky second round. “They’ll be a lot more ready to go, I think, for the third round tomorrow,” he said. “I’ll tell you, some of the guys are pretty frustrated, pretty disappointed, right now. We let a good-sized lead get away, and that has not happened with this team all year.” Homa didn’t rest on his record-setting performance in the first round. The Valencia, Calif. native, who shot even par in round two, carded a 9-under 131 (61-70) through 36 holes to pace the field. “I just tried to keep digging,” Homa said. “I knew after the good start in the beginning that there were 54-plus holes to go and that I couldn’t really pull off the gas. It worked really nicely.” His teammate, junior Michael Weaver, sits in second place after firing a 6-under 134, while UCLA freshman Jonathan Garrick and Washington senior Chris Williams - each of whom shot 136 - sit in a tie for third, five strokes out of the lead. UCLA junior Anton Arboleda, who carded a two-under 138, rounds out the top five. Oregon State junior David Fink made the biggest jump on the leader board after round two, moving from a tie for 53rd to a tie for 14th at 3-over 143. Arizona State freshman Jon Rahm posted the low score of the second round, a 3-under 67. The Championships continue with third-round action Tuesday morning starting at 8 a.m., with the final round Wednesday at 8 a.m. Pac-12 Men's Golf Championships - Team Scores - Rounds 1 & 2 (Round 1 Score - Round 2 Score - Day 1 Total) 1. California 338 - 357 - 695 (-5) 2. UCLA 346 - 358 - 704 (+4) 3. Washington 349 - 360 - 709 (+9) 4. Stanford 366 - 361 - 727 (+27) 5. Utah 358 - 371 - 729 (+29) T6. Oregon State 368 - 362 - 730 (+30) T6. Arizona State 368 - 362 - 730 (+30) T6. Colorado 370 - 360 - 730 (+30) 9. Oregon 362 - 370 - 732 (+32) 10. USC 368 - 368 - 736 (+36) 11. Arizona 369 - 370 - 739 (+39) 12. Washington State 376 - 379 - 755 (+55) Pac-12 Men's Golf Championships - Individuals (Top 10) - Rounds 1 & 2 (Round 1 Score - Round 2 Score - Day 1 Total) 1. Max Homa, California 61 - 70 - 131 (-9) 2. Michael Weaver, California 65 - 69 - 134 (-6) T3. Jonathan Garrick, UCLA 68 - 68 - 136 (-4) T3. Chris Williams, Washington 68 - 68 - 136 (-4) 5. Anton Arboleda, UCLA 69 - 69 - 138 (-2) T6. Rak Cho, Oregon 71 - 69 - 140 (E) T6. Philip Juel-Berg, Colorado 70 - 70 - 140 (E) T6. Patrick Rodgers, Stanford 68 - 72 - 140 (E) T6. Max Rottluff, Arizona State 67 - 73 - 140 (E) T6. Trevor Simsby, Washington 68 - 72 - 140 (E)