Sept. 25, 1997
Arizona State Men's Golf Team Travels to Albuquerque for Ping Preview Sept. 29-30
ASU Travels To New Mexico: The 1997-1998 Arizona State men's golf team, ranked No. 7 in the MasterCard preseason rankings, travels to Albuquerque, N.M., to compete in the Ping Preview on Sept. 29-30. 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 The Ping Preview: The Ping Preview will run from Sept. 29-Sept. 30. The tournament begins Monday with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. for 36 holes. The tournament concludes on Saturday with 18 holes beginning at 8:30 a.m. Among others in the field are: Clemson, UNLV, preseason No. 1 Oklahoma State, Texas Christian and USC.
Last Week: ASU finished tied for seventh at the Tucker Invitational on Sept. 19-20, with freshman Jin Park leading the way with a 1-over-par 145. Darren Angel and Paul Casey each had a 146 (T-32nd), with Greg Padilla shooting a 3-over-par 147, which tied for 41st. Brad Cannon (T-64th) shot a 150. The tournament was limited to two rounds because of lightning. ASU shot a team score of 582 (283-299), which was 6-over-par.
Ping Preview Results: Results from the 54-hole tournament can be obtained by calling the Info Connection at (770) 399-3066. To access the WAC, dial 922#, followed by the men's golf code of 1831.
Randy Lein: Randy Lein has coached 43 tournament victories in 15 seasons, tutored 34 All-Americans at ASU and USC, and begins his sixth year as mentor of ASUUs golf program in 1996-97. Lein added the best accolade in all of collegiate golf in 1995-96 Q the NCAA title Q 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.
The Lineup: Here is ASU's probable line-up for the Ping Preview: %DARREN ANGELIjunior who won Ping Preview in freshman season and finished tied for third at 1996 NCAA Championships. %GREG PADILLAImade 11 appearances during 1996-97 seasonI75.59 stroke average last yearItied for 6th at Tucker Invitational last year. %BRAD CANNONIjunior from Phoenix.Imedalist at Duck Invitational last year. %JIN PARKIfreshman from Fullerton, Calif.Itied for 27th at Tucker Inv. %PAUL CASEYInative of the United Kingdom.
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 won six tournaments in 1995-96, a school record.
-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.