May 21, 1999
TUSCON, Ariz. - After carding an even-par 288 today, the Arizona State Sun Devils remained in first place at the 1999 NCAA Men's Golf West Regional, which is being held at the Omni Tucson National Golf Course (Par-72, 7,025 yards). The Sun Devils' 36-hole total stands at 5-under-par 571 and they will take a six shot lead over UNLV and Brigham Young, who are both tied for second, into tomorrow's final round. The Rebels and Cougars each had identical rounds of 1-over-par 289 today and now own second place totals of 1-over-par 577.
The Oregon Ducks turned in the second-best score of the day -- a 3-under-par 285 -- and used that to move up from 10th into fourth place at 582. The day's best round was turned in by California, who shot a 4-under-par 284, putting the Bears in fifth place at 585. San Diego State is in sixth at 588, Colorado State is seventh at 589 and Washington is eighth at 590.
Saturday shapes up to a wild scramble for the NCAA Championship qualifying positions, as just seven shots separate the teams that are in the No. 9 through 14 positions. The top-nine teams qualify for the NCAAs, which are set for June 2-5, in Chaska, Minn., at the Hazeltine National Golf Club. Pepperdine is ninth at 594, followed by Arizona and Fresno State at 595, Stanford (598), UCLA (600) and USC (601).
The individual lead is held by Arizona State's Jeff Quinney at 5-under-par 139. He shot a 3-under-par 69 this afternoon after carding a 70 yesterday. Entering the day in a three-way tie for second, Quinney will take a two shot lead over a trio of golfers into the final round, as BYU's Billy Harvey, UNLV's Michael Kirk and San Diego State's James Stewart all stand at 3-under-par 141. Stewart began the day in a tie for fifth after shooting a 70 yesterday, while Harvey and Kirk were tied for eighth at 71.
Colorado State's Nigel Spence and California's Dong Yi are in a tied fifth place at 2-under-par 142.
The third and final round of the 54-hole tournament of play gets underway tomorrow morning with tee times beginning at 7 a.m. The top-nine teams and two individuals -- not among the top teams -- will qualify for the NCAA Men's Golf Championships, which are set for June 2-5, in Chaska, Minn., at the Hazeltine National Golf Club.
1999 NCAA Men's West Regional Golf Tournament
Tucson, Arizona - Quotes From Day Two
Arizona State Head Coach Randy Lein
"The wind was more of a factor today. The pins were challenging again. We're in good shape. We've got a lot of fire power, so we'd just as soon have the conditions be tough like they were today. We like the challenge. The important thing here is to get through the week without shooting ourselves in the foot and get to Minnesota."
BYU Head Coach Bruce Brockbank
"The kids are playing very well. It's tough to keep pace with such good teams, but our kids are doing a great job. The key to our success all year has been our depth, and we're getting help from everybody. We haven't had a lot of success at the regionals, so to come in here and be in the hunt is exciting."
UNLV Head Coach Dwaine Knight
"We're not playing our best golf. We're playing hard, but the greens are just firm enough so that it's hard to get going. That's what makes the scoring tough. You really have to have a lot of patience. It's important to play well and get some momentum going into the NCAA Championships. Arizona State is playing really well."
Arizona State Golfer Jeff Quinney
"Today was more of a grind than yesterday. Obviously, the wind made it tougher. The greens were firm again. I'm happy with my start. I used to make the game easier on myself. I need to be more agressive and give myself more chances at birdies."
BYU Golfer Billy Harvey
"I played really well. The last week or so, I've been hitting the ball really well. I t was nice to be able to birdie 18. That was big. It would be nice to win, but the big one (NCAA Championship) is still to come."
UNLV Golfer Michael Kirk
"I played pretty solid again today. I made a couple of mistakes, but I putted pretty well. I'm pretty happy with the way I've been playing. I've just got to keep on doing what I've been doing. I'm just going to keep plugging away. If I keep hitting greens, putts will go in because the greens are so good."
TEAM RESULTS
1. Arizona State 283-288-571
2. UNLV 288-289-577
Brigham Young 288-289-577
4. Oregon 297-285-582
5. California 301-284-585
6. San Diego State 293-295-588
7. Colorado State 296-293-589
8. Washington 291-299-590
9. Pepperdine 298-296-594
10. Arizona 301-294-595
Fresno State 290-305-595
12. Stanford 301-297-598
13. UCLA 296-304-600
14. Southern California 304-297-601
15. UTEP 301-303-604
New Mexico 299-305-604
17. Oregon State 295-310-605
18. UC Santa Barbara 309-311-620
TOP INDIVIDUALS
1. Jeff Quinney, Arizona State 69-70-139
2. Billy Harvey, Brigham Young 71-70-141
Michael Kirk, UNLV 71-70-141
James Stewart, San Diego State 70-71-141
5. Nigel Spence, Colorado State 71-71-142
Dong Yi, California 72-70-142