April 25, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. - Two-time defending Pac-10 champion Paul Casey shot a 67 in the third round of the 41st annual Pac-10 Men's Golf Championship to not only build a six-stroke lead heading into the final round, but also pull even with Tiger Woods for a spot in the Pac-10 record book.
Casey is at 18-under 198 (66-65-67) and has put himself in position to break Woods' Pac-10 par-72 record of 270 set in the 1996 Championships at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif. Woods shot 18-under (61-65-73-71). Casey last year shot a 15-under 265 at the Broadmoor Golf Club in Seattle on the par-70 course, including a NCAA record 60 in the final round. Casey needs to break par on Wednesday for the record.
ASU leads the team scores by 32 strokes over California at The ASU Karsten Golf Course (par-72, 7027 yards), as Sun Devil senior Jonas Runnquist is tied for third with a 10-under 206 (66-69-71). Arizona State is the five-time defending Pac-10 champion while Casey is the two-time defending champion. No player has won three straight Pac-10 titles, although Sherman Finger of USC won three straight Pac-8 crowns from 1963-65. The Sun Devils are 48-under (339-351-342=1032), while California is at 16-under 1,064 (359-352-353).
Casey is now 38-under-par in 11 Pac-10 Championship rounds, as he shot a 15-under 265 (67-66-72-60) in last year's event and had a 5-under 283 (76-73-68-66) in Orinda, Calif., in 1998. His stroke average in the Pac-10 Championship is 67.82.
ASU also is on pace to break team records as well, as the 1982 UCLA team set the mark with a 1,416 in Corvallis, Ore., which was 24-under par. ASU set the low team-score record in Seattle last year with a 3-over-par 1,403, as the championship was played on at the par-70 Broadmoor Gof Club. Other Sun Devils in the top 15 include sophomore Matt Jones who is tied for sixth with a 7-under 209 (72-71-66), and juniors Jin Park and Jeff Quinney, who are tied for 13th, as each has a 4-under 212. Park shot rounds of 65-77-70, while Quinney shot 70-74-68.
UCLA's Travis Johnson is at 12-under 204 (69-70-65) and is second behind Casey, as the Bruins shot 14-under 346 and are at 1-over 1,081 (366-369-346) and are tied for fifth. Bruin teammate Brandon DiTullio, who won the 1998 ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational at Karsten, is at 4-under 212 (71-73-68) and is tied for 13th.
Oregon State's Tim Mickelson shot a tournament-low 64 and is now at 10-under 206 (72-70-64) and is tied for third. Beaver teammates John Lepak (70-67-72=209/T-6th) and Dustin Wayne (70-64-67=211/T-10th) also are in contention for individual honors. Oregon State shot 15-under 345 on the day to move to 12-under 1,068, which is third and just four shots behind California.
The 10 teams played 36 holes Monday and will play 18 holes on Wednesday. Play begins at 7:30 a.m.
Arizona's Ricky Barnes is at 8-under 208 (71-69-68) and is in fifth, while teammate Derek Gillespie is at 4-under 212 (71-70-71) and tied for 13th. The Wildcats are tied for fifth with UCLA.
California's J.R. Ruda is at 6-under 210 (73-70-67) to lead the Golden Bears. Ruda will tee-off with Paul Casey on Wednesday at 9:46 a.m.
Oregon's Andrew Tredway (65-73-72=210) is tied for 10th as the Ducks are in fourth at 9-under 1,071 (351-356-364). Teammate Chris Carnahan is at 5-under 211 and tied for 10th. Washington's Gordy Scutt also is at 5-under 211 (68-73-70).
CASEY ON THE CHARTS: Paul Casey already has five championships for his career, tied for fourth on the ASU career wins list with 1993 NCAA Champion Todd Demsey. Next on the list is Charlie Gibson, who won six titles from 1972-75, while four-time All-American Billy Mayfair won eight titles from 1985-88. Sun Devil legend Phil Mickelson leads the list with an amazing 16 wins from 1989-92, including two ASU Thunderbird titles in 1991 and 1992.
KARSTEN KIND TO CASEY AND SUN DEVILS: Casey won the ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational on April 15-16 with a 9-under 207 (69-69-69). It also marked the second title Casey has won at Karsten, as he won the 1998 NCAA West Regional in Tempe with a 10-under 206 (70-65-71). ASU has won its past three tournaments at Karsten, winning the 1999 and 2000 Thunderbird/SAVANE titles and the 1998 West Regional. ASU shot 30-under-par 834 in the 1999 Thunderbird en route to a 17-stroke win over UCLA and was led by Jeff Quinney's Karsten record 62 in the final round. This year, ASU shot 18-under (846) to top Arizona by two strokes.
BACK-TO-BACK: Casey won back-to-back tournaments in his freshman year (1997-98) when he won the NCAA West Regional and the Pac-10 championships, becoming the first Sun Devil to win back-to-back tournaments since Phil Mickelson did it in 1991-92. A victory in the Pac-10s would give him back-to-back titles, as he won the ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE on April 15-16.