TOURNAMENT DATES SITE RESULT/NOTES Tucker Invitational 9/19-20 Albuquerque, N.M. T-7th/Jin Park T-27th Ping Preview 9/29-30 Albuquerque, N.M. T-9th/Paul Casey T-15th Jerry Pate National 10/20-21 Birmingham, Ala. 9th/Jeff Quinney T-13th Golf World/Palmetto Dunes 11/15-16 Hilton Head, S.C. 7th/Jeff Quinney T-6th Ping/Arizona Invitational 2/2-3 Tucson, Ariz. T-3rd/Darren Angel T-7th Taylor Made/Big Island Inv. 2/13-15 Waikoloa, Hawaii 9th/Greg Padilla T-11th Golf Digest Invitational 3/13-15 Las Vegas, Nev. 7th/Paul Casey T-16th USC/Southwestern Invit. 3/23-24 Los Angeles, Calif. 1st/Paul Casey 1st U.S. Collegiate Invit. 4/3-5 St. Augustine, Fla. ESPN broadcast 2 rounds ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invi.4/18-19 Tempe, Ariz. ASU defending champ Pac-10 Championships 4/27-29 Berkeley, Calif. ASU 3-time def. champ NCAA West Regionals 5/14-16 Tempe, Ariz. ASU 2nd past 2 years NCAA Championships 5/27-30 Albuquerque, N.M. 1990 and 1996 Champ
ASU TRAVELS TO FLORIDA FOR U.S. COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The 1997-1998 Arizona State men's golf team travels to St. Augustine, Fla., to compete in the U.S. Collegiate Golf Championship on April 3-5. ASU, winners of three straight Pac-10 titles and national champions in 1990 and 1996, also has a current string of 10 straight NCAA top-10 finishes. ASU finished in the top five in 13-of-14 tournaments last year and is the only team to finish in the top five at the NCAAs in each of the past three years. ASU is coached by sixth-year head coach Randy Lein, the 1996 National Coach of the Year.
ABOUT U.S. COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: The U.S. Collegiate Championships will be held at the Slammer and Squire Course (par-72, 6,940 yards) at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla. The 12-team field includes top-ranked UNLV, second-ranked Oklahoma State and fourth-ranked Arizona. ESPN will broadcast the second and final rounds live on Saturday, April 4 (Noon-2 p.m. MT) and on Sunday, April 5 (10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.).
RESULTS: Results from the tournament can be obtained by calling the Info Connection at (800) 300-2050. To access the information, use the MAC Code of 622, then document code 1790.
RANDY LEIN: Randy Lein has coached 44 tournament victories in 16 seasons, tutored 34 All-Americans at ASU and USC, and is in his sixth year as mentor of ASU's golf program in 1996-97. Lein added the best accolade in all of collegiate golf in 1995-96 -- the NCAA title -- to his collection of coaching honors as the Sun Devils won the 1996 title in Chattanooga, Tenn., with a three-stroke victory over UNLV at the Honors Course. In just his sixth season as head coach of the nation's top collegiate golf program, Lein has guided the Sun Devils to 21 tournament victories (including a school record six in 1995-96), four Pacific-10 Championships, an NCAA West Regional win and five top-10 finishes at the NCAA Championships including the title in 1996. In addition, Lein has tutored NCAA medalist Todd Demsey and seven All-Americans (13 occasions)-Demsey (3), Chris Hanell (3), Cade Stone, Chris Stutts, (2), Joey Snyder (2), Scott Johnson (2) and Darren Angel. He has won Pacific-10 Coach-of-the-Year honors three times (1993, 1995 and 1996) while at ASU. Lein (pronounced "Line"), a 1975 graduate of CS Northridge, led the USC to the NCAA finals every year from 1984 through 1992. The Trojans won 23 tournaments in 10 seasons and Lein tutored 21 all-Americas.
LAST TIME OUT: ASU won the Cleveland Golf Southwestern Invitational on March 23-24, with redshirt freshman Paul Casey leading the way with a 4-under-par 209, which earned him medalist honors. ASU shot a team score of 862 (285-290-287), which was 10-over-par. ASU's top two finishers were freshman: Casey (first) and Jeff Quinney (fifth). ASU has now won the USC-hosted event twice in the past three years
PAUL CASEY: Born in Cheltenham, England...redshirted in 1996-97...has finished in the top 20 in the past four tournaments...won the USC Southwestern Invitational...has two top-10 finishes...has five top-20 finishes...shot a 66 in the final round of the Southwestern Invitational.
Year App. Top 10 Rds. Avg. Low 1997-98 7 2 20 72.70 66 Low Round: 66 in third round of 1998 USC/Southwestern Inv.
DARREN ANGEL: Has played in eight tournaments on the year...tied for seventh at the Ping Arizona Invitational...missed most of last year due to an injured elbow and illness...earned Pac-10 honorable mention honors last year...the first freshman since Phil Mickelson in 1988-89 to win a tournament when he won the GOLFWEEK /Ping Preview in Cornelius, Ore., on Sept. 16-17, 1995...earned honorable mention All-America honors in 1996, although he ended tied for third at the NCAA Championships...ended his freshman season fifth in the Rolex/Nicklaus rankings...also earned second-team All-Pac-10 honors in 1995-96.
Year App. Top 10 Rds. Avg. Low 1997-98 8 1 23 73.96 67 1996-97 7 1 19 75.26 70 1995-96 15 6 47 74.17 68 Low Round: 67 in 1998 Golf Digest Collegiate Invitational
BRAD CANNON: Tied for eighth at Cleveland Golf Southwestern Invitational...Phoenix native who tied for first (lost playoff) at 1997 Oregon Duck Inv....was 11th at 1997 ASU Invitational...was even at both the Duck Invitational and at the ASU Invitational...shot a 69 in final round of 1997 Taylor Made Intercollegiate...honorable mention All-Pac-10 in 1997...had a 75.57 stroke average the past two seasons.
Year App. Top 10 Rds. Avg. Low 1997-98 6 1 17 75.29 72 1996-97 14 1 42 75.57 69 1995-96 9 0 28 75.57 69 Low Round: 3rd-round 69 at 1997 Taylor Made Intercollegiate
GREG PADILLA: Has three top-20 finishes this season...had the best performance of his career in the 1996 Tucker Invitational with a sixth-place (tie) finish...shot a 5-under-par 211, including a low-round of 67 in the second round...made four appearances in rookie season in 1995-96...posted a 75.67 stroke average in four appearances...best outing was a 222 (75-73-74) in the 1996 ASU/Thunderbird Invitational ( 23rd).
Year App. Top 10 Rds. Avg. Low 1997-98 7 1 20 74.30 70 1996-97 11 1 32 75.59 67 1995-96 4 0 12 75.67 72 Low Round: 67 in second round of 1996 Tucker Invitational
CHAMPS FROM THE PAC-10: ASU won the 1990 and 1996 men's golf titles. Other Pac-10 teams to win the NCAA Men's Golf Championship are: Stanford (1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1946, 1953 and 1994), UCLA (1988) and Arizona (1992).
INDIVIDUAL CHAMPIONS FROM THE PAC-10: Sun Devils Jim Carter (1983), Phil Mickelson (1989, 1990, 1992) and Todd Demsey (1993) all won NCAA Individual Championships. Other Pac-10 individual winners include: Frank Tatum Jr. of Stanford (1942), Scott Simpson of USC (1976 and 1977), Ron Commans of USC (1981) and Tiger Woods of Stanford (1996).
DOUBLE-CROWN WINNER: ASU is one of two squads to win two NCAA crowns in the 1990s, and is trying to become the first team since Houston in 1982, 1984 and 1985 to win three crowns in a decade. A look at the NCAA team champions in the 1990s:
Year Team Score Host School
1990 Arizona State 1,155 Florida
1991 Oklahoma State 1,161 San Jose State
1992 Arizona 1,129 New Mexico
1993 Florida 1,145 Kentucky
1994 Stanford 1,129 Southern Methodist
1995 Oklahoma State 1,156 Ohio State
1996 Arizona State 1,186 UT-Chattanooga
1997 Pepperdine 1,148 Northwestern
1998 May 27-30, 1998 New Mexico
THE LINEUP: Quick notes on the probable ASU lineup:*Darren Angel...junior who won Ping Preview in freshman season and finished tied for third at 1996 NCAA Championships.
*Brad Cannon...junior from Phoenix....medalist at Duck Invitational last year.
*Paul Casey...native of the United Kingdom....medalist at 1998 USC Invitational.
*Greg Padilla...made 11 appearances during 1996-97 season...75.59 stroke average last year...tied for 6th at 1996 Tucker Invitational.
*Jin Park...freshman from Fullerton, Calif....tied for 12th at USC Invitational.
*Jeff Quinney...freshman from Eugene, Ore....has 4 top-20 finishes.
ASU Quick Facts *ASU has posted 10 straight NCAA top-10 finishes, the best current mark in the nation.
*ASU is the only school to finish in the top five at the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons. *ASU's NCAA Championships: 1990 and 1996 *ASU was a top five finisher in 13-of-14 events last year. *Junior Darren Angel was ranked No. 21 in MasterCard preseason rankings. *ASU has won the Pac-10 title in four of the past five years and in the past three years. *Randy Lein has won Pac-10 Coach of the Year five times, three times at ASU and twice at USC.
UP NEXT... *ASU will host the Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational on April 18-19. *ASU will also host the 1998 NCAA West Regional on May 14-16.