Men's golf fires 9-under round to jump out early in West Regional

May 13, 2009

<a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/photos/schools/asu/sports/m-golf/auto_pdf/… One Results in PDF Format</a> <a href="http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html" target="_new"><img src="http://grfx.cstv.com/graphics/icon-acrosmall.gif" alt="Get Acrobat Reader" border="0" height="10" width="9"></a><separator></separator>  <separator></separator> <a href="http://www.usfdons.com/sports/m-golf/spec-rel/042009aaa.html">Click here to access USF's official NCAA West Regional Site</a><separator></separator><a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/archive/asu-m-golf-finishes… here to access ASU's year-by-year finishes at the Pac-10, NCAA Regional and NCAA Championships</a><separator></separator>Sophomore <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/kennegard_jesper00.html"… Kennegard</a> carded an opening-round 6-under par 66 to lead a group of three Arizona State players who posted under par rounds as the Sun Devils took the first-round lead of the 2009 NCAA Division I Men's Golf West Regional Championships that opened Thursday at the par-72, 6,849-yard Lake Merced Golf Club. Kennegard had five birdies and eagled the 496-yard par-5 14th hole as ASU holds a one-shot lead over New Mexico.<separator></separator>Arizona State, the regional's No. 3 seed, registered a 9-under par total of 279 while New Mexico is at 280. Texas A&M (281) is third followed by Oregon (282) and top-seed USC (285). San Diego State concluded play at 2-under par 286 and is one of six teams to finish the first 18 holes under par.<separator></separator>ASU is ranked 14th in the Nike/Golfword Coaches' Poll and by Golfstat and is 15th by Golfweek and hopes to advance to its seventh straight NCAA Championship and its 16th in <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/lein_randy00.html">Randy Lein's</a> 17 seasons. ASU's current streak of six straight NCAA Championship appearances is tied for the fourth-best active streak in the nation.<separator></separator>USC sophomore Matthew Giles holds the individual lead after carding a 7-under par 65, one shot off the course record. Giles' round included seven birdies and an eagle. He went to the 18th hole at 8-under and had an opportunity to tie the course record before hitting his drive out of bounds and settling for a bogey.<separator></separator>Giles has a one-shot lead over Kennegard and is two strokes in front of John Hurley of Texas A&M, New Mexico's Steve Saunders and BYU's Brady Johnson. All three players turned in rounds of 5-under par 67.<separator></separator>Joining Kennegard with under par rounds for Arizona State were Knut Borsheim and <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/kim_chan00.html">Chan Kim</a>, who are tied for fifth and 13th, respectively. Borsheim concluded the day with a 3-under par 69, while Kim posted a 1-under par score of 71. Borsheim also notched an eagle on the 14th hole. Freshman <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/kim_chan00.html">Chan Kim</a> shot a 1-under 71 while senior <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/gross_stephan00.html">St… Gross</a> had a 1-over 73. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/pinckney_scott00.html">S… Pinckney</a> shot a 3-over 75.<separator></separator>A total of 17 players are under par following the opening round.<separator></separator>The top five teams and the top individual not on an advancing team will qualify from each of the six regional sites for the NCAA Division I Men's Championship (112th annual) at Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio (May 26-30).<separator></separator>ASU has won or tied for the title in a NCAA Regional five times. ASU tied with Arizona in 1991 and tied with New Mexico in 1998. It won the title outright in 1995, 1999 and 2001. Sun Devil <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/casey_paul00.html">Paul Casey</a> won the 1998 individual title outright followed by <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/quinney_jeff00.html">Jeff Quinney</a> (1999) and then <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/alvaradoholley_benjamin0… Alvarado Holley</a> (2007). <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/jones_matt00.html">Matt Jones</a> shared medalist honors in 2001.<separator></separator>Team Scores 1. Arizona State 279 (-9) 2. New Mexico 280 (-8) 3. Texas A&M 281 (-7) 4. Oregon 282 (-6) 5. Southern California 285 (-3) 6. San Diego State 286 (-2) 7. San Diego 288 (E) 8. UC Irvine 289 (+1) T9. Colorado 291 (+3) T9. San Francisco 291 (+3) 11. Kansas State 294 (+6) 12. UC Davis 298 (+10) 13. Oregon State 300 (+12) <separator></separator>Top 10 Individuals 1. Matthew Giles (USC) - 65 (-7) 2. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/kennegard_jesper00.html"… Kennegard</a> (Arizona State) - 66 (-6) T3. John Hurley (Texas A&M) - 67 (-5) T3. Steve Saunders (New Mexico) - 67 (-5) T3. Brady Johnson* (BYU) - 67 (-5) T6. <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/borsheim_knut00.html">Kn… Borsheim</a> (Arizona State) - 69 (-3) T6. Bronson Burgoon (Texas A&M) - 69 (-3) T6. James Erkenbeck (New Mexico) - 69 (-3) T6. Daniel Miernicki (Oregon) - 69 (-3) T6. Robbie Ziegler (Oregon) - 69 (-3) <separator></separator>2009 NCAA Men's Golf Regional Sites (May 14-16) The Club at Olde Stone - Bowling Green, Kentucky (Western Kentucky) Galloway National Golf Club - Galloway, New Jersey (Columbia) Red Tail Golf Club - Sorrento, Florida (Florida) University of Texas Golf Club - Austin, Texas (Texas) Karsten Creek Golf Club - Stillwater, Oklahoma (Oklahoma State) Lake Merced Golf Club - Daly City, California (University of San Francisco) <separator></separator>NCAA MEN'S GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT: The NCAA Nationals run May 26-30, 2009. The finals also have a new format, with the final eight teams after 54 holes facing off in match play to determine the national champion. The individual winner will be crowned after 54 holes instead of 72 as in past years.<separator></separator>2009 NCAA WEST REGIONAL FIELD (By Seeding): 1- Southern California, 2- Texas A&M, 3- Arizona State, 4- San Diego State, 5- UC Davis, 6- Oregon, 7- New Mexico, 8- Colorado, 9- UC Irvine, 10- Kansas State, 11- Oregon State, 12- San Diego, 13- San Francisco.<separator></separator>LIVE SCORING: Hole-by-hole live scoring is available via Golfstat.com and will be posted on the USFDons.com website.<separator></separator>ABOUT LAKE MERCED GOLF CLUB: The host site of the 2009 NCAA Men's Golf Regional, the Lake Merced Golf Club owns a storied history. Originally designed by Willie Lock in 1922, Lake Merced Golf Club was redesigned in 1929 under the guidance of fabled architect Dr. Alister MacKenzie. When Interstate 280 was constructed in the early 1960's, the Club utilized vacant land acquired in the 1920's and retained Robert Muir Graves to reroute the course as necessary to create the basis of today's championship layout. The golf course underwent a major renovation in 1996 under the direction of Rees Jones, known the world over for his brilliant restoration of legendary championship venues. Lake Merced has hosted numerous Collegiate, NCGA and USGA events, including the 1990 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship (Tiger Woods's debut in USGA competition). Lake Merced regularly hosts sectional qualifying for both the U.S. Open and the U.S. Women's Open.<separator></separator>START IT OVER: Back in 2002, ASU head coach <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/lein_randy00.html">Randy Lein</a> saw ASU's 18-year NCAA championship consecutive streak snapped in a season that had injuries and some bad luck. ASU is back in the saddle with six straight appearances, and to show you how competitive the NCAA men's golf champioships is, that streak already is tied for the fourth-best active streak, as Arizona (1987-2007) had a 21-year streak snapped last year after failing to post a .500 record and not make regionals, while Georgia Tech did not qualify out of regional action after making the NCAAs for 10 straight years (1998-2007).<separator></separator>CURRENT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES Oklahoma State, 1947-2008, 62 Georgia, 1998-2008, 11 Florida, 2001-2008, 8 Arizona State, 2003-2008, 6 UCLA, 2003-2008, 6 <separator></separator>NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES: ASU has made 15 NCAA Championship appearances in <a href="http://thesundevils.cstv.com/sports/m-golf/mtt/lein_randy00.html">Randy Lein's</a> 16 years (1993-2008), tied for the second-best mark in the nation, as it will try for its 16th May 14-16.<separator></separator>NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP APPEARANCES (1993-2008) Oklahoma State-16 Arizona State, Arizona, Florida-15 Clemson-14 Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Wake Forest-13 Auburn, New Mexico, Texas, UNLV-12 Georgia-11 UCLA-10 <separator></separator>REGIONAL STREAK: Counting its appearance in the 21 years a NCAA Regional has been staged (1989-2009), ASU has now made 26 straight NCAA postseason appearances, the fifth-longest active streak in the nation. ASU has advanced to the NCAA Championships 24 of the past 25 seasons (1984-2008), missing only in 2002, and in 43 of the past 45 seasons (1964-2008), missing prior to 2002 in 1983.<separator></separator>LONGEST ACTIVE NCAA POSTSEASON STREAK Oklahoma State, 1947-09, 63 USC, 1973-09, 37 Texas, 1978-09, 32 Clemson, 1982-09, 28 Arizona State, 1984-09, 26 Georgia Tech, 1985-09, 25 *Note: List includes NCAA Championship prior to 1989 and reaching at least NCAA Regionals from 1989-present.<separator></separator>ASU WON-LOSS RECORDS VS. WEST REGIONAL OPPONENTS FOR 2008-2009 3-1: UC Irvine 2-0: Oregon State 2-1: Texas A&M, UC Davis 2-2: Oregon 1-0: New Mexico, San Diego, San Francisco 1-2: San Diego State 1-4: USC 0-0: Kansas State 0-1: Colorado