April 15, 1998
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 Invitational 4/3-5 St. Augustine, Fla. ASU T-6th/Jeff Quinney 7th
ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational
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. ASU 1990 and 1996 Champ
ASU PLAYS HOST TO THUNDERBIRD/SAVANE INVITATIONAL: The 1998 Arizona State men's golf team plays host to one of two tournaments on the year on Saturday, April 18th and Sunday, April 19th when its hosts the 26th annual ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational at ASU's Karsten Golf Course (par-72, 7,027 yards). The 18 teams (17 collegiate teams, including two from ASU, plus the Swedish National Team) will play 36 holes on Saturday, April 18th followed by a final round on Sunday, April 19th. Play begins both days at 7 a.m. Arizona State won the 1997 Thunderbird Invitational and has won the tournament seven out of the past nine years. ASU also will play host to the 1998 NCAA West Regional on May 14-16.
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 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.
THE TOURNAMENT: ASU has won the Thunderbird Invitational eight times (1984, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1997). Six times Sun Devils have won the individual title: Mark Sollenberger (1974), Jim Carter (1984), Phil Mickelson (1991 and 1992), Larry Barber (1994) and Todd Demsey (1995).
SCHEDULE NOTE: The practice round will take place on Friday, April 17th, followed by the first 36 holes on Saturday 18th. The final 18 holes will take place on Sunday, April 19th. The 18 participating teams are: Arizona, Arizona State (two teams), California, Fresno State, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Swedish National Team, USC, UTEP, Texas, TCU, UCLA, Washington and Washington State.
RESULTS: Results from the tournament can be obtained by calling the Pac-10 FaxBack at (503) 614-4044. The document number is 111651. Please note that with 36 holes played on Saturday, results will probably not be posted until later in the evening. Sunday's finish will be much earlier, and results hopefully will be posted by 4 p.m. MST/PT.
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 COUPLE TIMES OUT: ASU finished tied for sixth at the U.S. Collegiate Invitational on April 3-5, with Jeff Quinney posting another strong outing with an even round of 216, good enough for seventh. Redshirt freshman Paul Casey finished tied for 12th with a 3-over-par 219...ASU won the Cleveland Golf Southwestern Invitational on March 23-24, with 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 Quinney (fifth). ASU has now won the USC-hosted event twice in the past three years.
JEFF QUINNEY: ASU's top golfer on the year with a 72.48 stroke average...has been in the top 20 in five of seven tournaments...has three top-10 finishes...best finish was a fifth-place finish at the USC Cleveland/Golf Invitational.
Year App. Top 10 Rds. Avg. Low 1997-98 7 3 21 72.48 70 Low Round: 70 in first round of 1998 U.S. Collegiate Inv.
PAUL CASEY: Born in Cheltenham, England...redshirted in 1996-97...has finished in the top 20 in the past five tournaments...won the USC Southwestern Invitational...has two top-10 finishes...has six top-20 finishes...shot a 66 in the final round of the Southwestern Invitational.
Year App. Top 10 Rds. Avg. Low 1997-98 8 2 23 72.74 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 7 1 20 75.45 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 8 1 23 74.43 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