May 26, 2000
TEMPE, Ariz. The 2000 Arizona State men's golf team travels Opelika, Ala., for the 2000 NCAA Championships at the Grand National Golf Club Lake Course (par-72/6,943 yards), which is hosted by Auburn. The teams play 18 holes each day (72-hole total) May 31-June 3 as ASU attempts to win its third NCAA title. ASU, winners of a league record six straight Pac-10 titles and national champions in 1990 and 1996, also has a current string of 12 straight NCAA top-10 finishes and is the only team to finish in the top five at the NCAAs in each of the past five years. ASU is coached by eighth-year head coach Randy Lein, the 1996 National Coach of the Year and a seven-time winner of Pac-10 Coach of the Year (five times at ASU and twice at USC).
ASU's lineup will be junior All-American and three-time Pac-10 champion Paul Casey, sophomore Matt Jones, junior All-American Jeff Quinney, junior Jin Park and senior Jonas Runnquist. Dating to last year, Casey is 84-under-par in his past 45 rounds and posted a 23-under 265 at the Pac-10 Championships. Casey, the Pac-10 Player of the Year, has six career wins, matching him with Charlie Gibson (1972-75) for third on the Arizona State career list. Billy Mayfair (1985-88) is second on the list with eight, while Phil Mickelson (1989-92) leads the list with 16. ASU has won four of its past six tournaments heading into the NCAA Championships.
TEE TIMES: Fifth-seeded ASU will tee with defending champion and fourth-seeded Georgia and sixth-seeded Brigham Young at 12:45 p.m. on Wednesday (May 31) from the first tee. ASU will then tee from No. 10 at 7:12 a.m. on Thursday (June 1) with Georgia and BYU. Friday and Saturday's tee times and pairings are based on the leaderboard.
STROKE AVERAGE RECORD WITHIN REACH: Phil Mickelson holds the ASU stroke average record of 69.95 back in 1991-92. Heading into NCAA Championships, Casey has a 69.57 stroke average through 28 rounds. He will play four rounds at the NCAA Championships. If he averages 72.50 in his final four rounds he will break Mickelson's ASU record.
NCAAs: Six schools have made at least 12 straight trips to the NCAA Championships. The schools and the consecutive years they have contended are: Oklahoma State (54), Clemson (19), Arizona State (17), Arizona (12), UNLV (12) and North Carolina (12). Florida had a 17-year streak snapped when it did not qualify out of the NCAA East Regional this year.
THE AVERAGE FINISH: The Sun Devils averaged a 4.1 finish at the NCAA Championships in the 1990s, the best mark in the nation. Only Oklahoma State (4.5) averaged higher than an eighth-place finish last decade. Others who qualified every year and their average finish in the 1990s: Florida (8.3), UNLV (9.1), Clemson (9.7), North Carolina (12.6) and Arizona (14.0).
CUT ABOVE: Since the NCAA instituted the 15-team "cut" at the NCAA Championships in 1992, only three schools have made the cut each of the eight years: Arizona State, Oklahoma State and Florida. With Florida not making the 30-team field this year, only the Cowboys and Sun Devils have a chance to continue that streak in 2000.
UNDER LEIN: ASU has finished fifth (1998 and 1999), tied for fifth (1997), first (1996), fourth (1995), tied for ninth (1994) and sixth (1993) under eighth-year head coach Randy Lein in the NCAA Championship, an average finish of fifth place.
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).
EIGHT DIFFERENT WINNERS: ASU is one of two squads to win two NCAA crowns in the 90s, with Oklahoma State the other. There has been a different champion in NCAA men's golf each year since 1992 as eight schools from five conferences have won the title. A look at the 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 | UNLV | 1,118 | New Mexico | ||
| 1999 | Georgia | 1,180 | Minnesota |
PAC-10 REVIEW...CASEY AND ASU SHATTER RECORDS: Paul Casey shot a 67 in the final round of the 41st annual Pac-10 Men's Golf Championship to break Tiger Woods conference par-72 mark and win his third straight Pac-10 title at The ASU Karsten Golf Course (par-72, 7027 yards) on April 24-26. Casey also led ASU to its sixth straight league title, as the Sun Devils shot 56-under 1,384 (339-351-342-352) to set Pac-10 records for low score and best score under par. Casey finished at 23-under 265 (66-65-67-67) and broke Woods' Pac-10 par-72 record of 18-under 270 (61-65-73-71) set in the 1996 Championships at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif. 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. ASU won the title by 37 strokes over Oregon State, as Jonas Runnquist also tied for fifth with a 9-under 279 (66-69-71-73). ASU has now won 11 Pac-10 titles since joining the league in fall of 1978. ASU broke its own records with its 56-under 1,384. ASU set the low team-score record in Seattle last year with a 3-over-par 1,403. The previous par record was 22-under 1,418 by ASU in 1990.
RANDY LEIN: Randy Lein has coached 53 tournament victories in 18 seasons, tutored 38 All-Americans and added the top accolade in collegiate golf in 1995-96 - the NCAA title - to his collection of honors as the Sun Devils won the title in Chattanooga, Tenn., with a three-stroke victory over UNLV at the Honors Course. In his eighth season as ASU's coach, Lein has guided ASU to 30 tournament victories (including a school record six in 1995-96), seven Pac-10 titles, three NCAA West Regional wins and seven top-10 finishes at the NCAAs including the 1996 title. In addition, Lein has tutored NCAA medalist Todd Demsey and nine All-Americans (18 occasions): Todd Demsey (3), Chris Hanell (3), Cade Stone, Chris Stutts, Joey Snyder (2), Scott Johnson (2), Darren Angel (2), Jeff Quinney (2) and Paul Casey (2). He has won Pac-10 Coach-of-the-Year five times (1993, 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2000) while at ASU and twice at USC (1980 and 1986). Lein (pronounced "Line") is a 1975 graduate of CS Northridge.
ON THE CHARTS: Paul Casey has already captured six tournament championships in his 33-tournament career. Casey won the 2000 ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational, the 1998 NCAA West Regional, the 1998, 1999 and 2000 Pac-10 Championships and the 1998 USC/Cleveland Golf Southwestern Classic. A look at Casey on the ASU career wins list:
| Rk. | Name (Years) | Wins |
| 1. | Phil Mickelson (1989-92) | 16 |
| 2. | Billy Mayfair (1985-88) | 8 |
| 3t. | Paul Casey (1997-present) | 6 |
| 3t. | Charlie Gibson (1972-75) | 6 |
| 5. | Todd Demsey (1992-95) | 5 |
| 6t. | Howard Twitty (1970-72) | 4 |
| 6t | Scott Watkins (1978-79) | 4 |
| 6t | Dan Croonquist (1976-79) | 4 |
| 9. | Jim Carter (1981-84) | 3 |
| Jeff Quinney (1997-present) | 2 |
JUNIOR ALL-AMERICAN PAUL CASEY: A two-time second-team All-American and three-time Pac-10 champion...1999 English Amateur Champion...2000 Pac-10 Golfer of the Year...set Pac-10 record with 23-under 265 (66-65-67-67) at 2000 Pac-10 Championship...won the 2000 ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational with a 9-under 207 (69-69-69)...Golf World Player of the Week for May 2...has 15 rounds in the 60s this year (out of 28)...dating to last year, Casey is 84-under in his past 45 rounds...has at least a third-place finish in five of his past seven tournaments...is 58-under-par in 28 rounds this year...shot an NCAA record 60 on the final day of the 1999 Pac-10 Championships (April 28)...also medalist at 1998 and 1999 Pac-10 Championships, 1998 Cleveland Golf Southwestern Invitational and 1998 NCAA West Regional.
| Year | App | Top 10 | Rds. | Avg. | Low |
| 1999-00 | 9 | 6 | 28 | 69.57 | 65 |
| 1998-99 | 12 | 7 | 37 | 72.16 | 60 |
| 1997-98 | 12 | 5 | 37 | 72.30 | 65 |
| Career | 33 | 18 | 102 | 71.50 | 60 |
Low Round: 60 at the 1999 Pac-10 Championships, held in Seattle, in the fourth and final round.
SOPHOMORE MATT JONES: Has been in the top 10 in three of his past six tournaments...tied for seventh at 2000 Pac-10 Championships with 8-under 280 (72-71-66-71)...five of his past 16 rounds have been in the 60s...first-team All-Pac-10 in 2000...improved his score each day at the 1999 NCAA Championships (79-78-76-73)...tied for 10th this past summer at Porter Cup but equaled tournament record with 62 in opening round...has 10 rounds in the 60s in brief career.
| Year | App | Top 10 | Rds. | Avg. | Low |
| 1999-00 | 11 | 4 | 34 | 71.59 | 66 |
| 1998-99 | 8 | 2 | 26 | 73.38 | 68 |
| Career | 19 | 6 | 60 | 72.37 | 66 |
Low Round: 66 at the 2000 Pac-10 Championships, held in Tempe, in the third round.
JUNIOR ALL-AMERICAN JEFF QUINNEY: Has four top-10 finishes this year...tied for eighth at the 2000 ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational with a 4-under 212 (68-73-71)...tied for third at USC Southwestern Classic with a 2-under 214 (74-70-70)...first-team All-Pac-10 in 2000 and 1999...medalist at 1999 West Regional and ASU Thunder/SAVANE Invitational...best round this year was a 66 in the first round of the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate.
| Year | App | Top 10 | Rds. | Avg. | Low |
| 1999-00 | 12 | 4 | 37 | 72.43 | 66 |
| 1998-99 | 13 | 5 | 40 | 72.50 | 62 |
| 1997-98 | 11 | 3 | 35 | 72.57 | 68 |
| Career | 36 | 12 | 112 | 72.50 | 62 |
Low Round: 62 at the 1999 ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational, held in Tempe, in the third and final round.
JUNIOR JIN PARK: Tied for fifth at NCAA Western Regional with 6-under 210 (68-70-72)...had a 9-under-par 207 (71-68-68) at the Golf World Invitational and tied for seventh...tied for 15th at Pac-10 Championships with a 4-under 284 (65-77-70-72)...has four top-10 finishes in his career...best career finish was a tie for fourth at 1998 Pac-10 Championships with a 2-under 286 (72-72-66-76).
| Year | App | Top 10 | Rds. | Avg. | Low |
| 1999-00 | 11 | 2 | 34 | 73.09 | 65 |
| 1998-99 | 12 | 1 | 36 | 73.97 | 66 |
| 1997-98 | 11 | 1 | 34 | 73.85 | 66 |
| Career | 34 | 4 | 104 | 73.64 | 65 |
Low Round: 65 at the 2000 Pac-10 Championships, held in Tempe., in the first round.
SENIOR JONAS RUNNQUIST: Tied for fifth at 2000 Pac-10 Championships with a 9-under 279 (66-69-71-73)...has three top-10 finishes this year...second-team All-Pac-10 in 2000...tied for fourth at ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational with a 5-under 211 (69-72-20)...shot a 66 at the Nelson Invitational in third round on Oct. 31...is 11-under in his past 11 rounds...tied for fourth at the Nelson.
| Year | App | Top 10 | Rds. | Avg. | Low |
| 1999-00 | 10 | 3 | 31 | 72.77 | 66 |
| 1998-99 | 10 | 1 | 31 | 75.06 | 67 |
| 1997-98 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 75.00 | 70 |
| 1996-97 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 77.06 | 72 |
| Career | 28 | 4 | 86 | 74.65 | 66 |
Low Round: 66, twice, at the 2000 Pac-10 Championships, held in Tempe, in the first round, and at the 1999 Nelson Invitational, held at Stanford, in the third and final round.
BETTER START NEEDED: The past three NCAA Championships have produced strong finishes for ASU, but a slow start has prevented it from challenging for the title on the final day. ASU has shot its best round of the NCAAs in the final round in the past two seasons.
Last year, ASU trailed Oklahoma State by nine strokes after the first day and was tied for ninth and 14 strokes back after the second round.
In 1998, ASU was tied for 15th with five other schools, 11 strokes back of UNLV after first round play with a 1-over-par 289. It was tied for 12th and 23 strokes back after two rounds.
In 1997, ASU found themselves 17 shots behind first-round leader Northwestern after the first day. The Sun Devils then made a 19-stroke improvement from round one to round two.
The last time ASU led the NCAAs after the first day was in 1996. ASU shot a 2-under 286 and was five strokes ahead of UNLV. ASU went on to win the national title by three strokes over the Rebels, firing a 1,186 (+34).
1998 NCAA Championships (Albuquerque, N.M.)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
| ASU | 289 | 282 | 283 | 276* | 1130 (-22) | *276 was best round of the day. |
| '00 Returners | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Jeff Quinney | 69 | 71 | 71 | 68 | 279 (-9)/T-11 |
| Jin Park | 75 | 73 | 68 | 72 | 288 (E)/T-37 |
| Paul Casey | 72 | 74 | 73 | 78 | 297 (+9)/T-77 |
1999 NCAA Championships (Chaska, Minn.)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| ASU | 297 | 307 | 296 | 292 | 1192 (+40) |
| '00 Returners | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Paul Casey | 72 | 77 | 69 | 72 | 290 (-4)/4th |
| Jeff Quinney | 72 | 79 | 74 | 78 | 303 (+15)/T-44 |
| Jin Park | 74 | 76 | 79 | 76 | 305 (+17)/T-51 |
| Matt Jones | 79 | 78 | 76 | 73 | 306 (+18)/T-57 |
MAKING HISTORY: Arizona State's Paul Casey has won three straight Pac-10 crowns in his first three seasons. A look at others who have won at least three consecutive conference crowns, and note that it has only been done twice since 1985, by Casey and PGA Tour member Justin Leonard:
| Player | School/Conference | Years (Titles) |
| Justin Leonard | Texas/SWC | 1991-94 (4)* |
| Paul Casey | Arizona St./Pac-10 | 1998-2000 (3) |
| Pat Fogarty | St. John's/BIG EAST | 1982-84 (3) |
| Tim Graham | McNeese St./Southland | 1977-79 (3) |
| Lindy Miller | Oklahoma St./Big 8 | 1976-78 (3) |
| Ken Ezell | Furman/Southern | 1975-77 (3) |
| John Davis | La.-Lafayette/Southland | 1974-76 (3)* |
| B.R. McLendon | LSU/SEC | 1965-67 (3) |
| Sherman Finger | USC/Pac-8 | 1964-66 (3) |
| John Konsek | Ohio St./Big 10 | 1958-60 (3) |
| Fred Wampler | Ohio St./Big 10 | 1948-50 (3) |
| Ed White | Texas/SWC | 1933-35 (3) |
*Leonard shared 1992 title with Jason Hill of Texas Tech.
*Davis shared 1975 title with Scott Morgan of La.Tech.
NCAA 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).
RECENT INDIVIDUAL FINISHES: A look at the top recent Sun Devil individual finishes in the NCAA Championships beginning with the 1992-93 season, Randy Lein's first season as head coach:
| Player | Finish | Year | Site |
| Todd Demsey | 1st | 1993 | Lexington, Ky. |
| Darren Angel | T-3rd | 1996 | Chattanooga, Tenn. |
| Paul Casey | 4th | 1999 | Chaska, Minn. |
| Joey Snyder | T-5th | 1995 | Columbus, Ohio |
| Darren Angel | T-7th | 1998 | Albuquerque, N.M. |
| Todd Demsey | T-7th | 1994 | Dallas, Texas |
| Scott Johnson | T-8th | 1995 | Columbus, Ohio |
| Scott Johnson | T-10th | 1997 | Chicago, Ill. |
| Chris Hanell | T-10th | 1997 | Chicago, Ill. |
| Chris Hanell | T-10th | 1994 | Dallas, Texas |
| Jeff Quinney | T-11th | 1998 | Albuquerque, N.M. |
SUN DEVILS AS PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE YEAR: A list of Sun Devils who have won Pac-10 Player of the Year award: Scott Watkins (1979 co-player of the year), Dan Forsman (1981 co-player of the year), Billy Mayfair (1987), Phil Mickelson (1990, 1991 and 1992), Todd Demsey (1994) and Paul Casey (2000).
SUN DEVILS AS PAC-10 CHAMPS: A list of Sun Devils who have won Pac-10 individual titles (year and score noted): Scott Watkins and Dan Croonquist in 1979 (277), Jim Bertoncino in 1980 (280), Dan Forsman and Tony Grimes in 1981 (283), Phil Mickelson in 1990 (278), Scott Johnson in 1997 (278), and Paul Casey in 1998 (283), 1999 (265) and 2000 (265).
RESULTS: Results from Auburn can be accessed on the internet at: www.auburn.edu/athletics/ncaagolf or at www.ncaachampionships.com.
ADDRESS: The tournament's address is Grand National Golf Club, 3000 SunBelt Parkway, Opelika, AL 36801.
ASU HOTEL: The ASU team and men's golf SID Doug Tammaro will be staying at the Opelika Comfort Inn (334-741-9977).
GOLFWEEK RANKINGS: The Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings have ASU fifth, behind No. 1 Georgia Tech, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Oklahoma State and No. 4 Georgia, the defending NCAA champion.
Individually, Paul Casey is ranked second behind Bryce Molder of Georgia Tech, followed by Charles Howell of Oklahoma State, defending NCAA champion Luke Donald of Northwestern and Matt Kuchar of Georgia Tech. ASU's Matt Jones is ranked 29th.
MASTERCARD RANKINGS: The MasteCard Rankings have ASU fourth, behind No. 1 Clemson, No. 2 Georgia Tech and No. 3 Oklahoma State. BYU is ranked fifth and Georgia sixth.
Individually, Paul Casey is ranked seventh, behind Luke Donald (Northwestern), Matt Kuchar (Georgia Tech), Lucas Glover (Clemson), Jess Daley (Northwestern), Bryce Molder (Georgia Tech) and Jeremy Anderson (UNLV). ASU's Matt Jones is ranked 28th.
| TOURNAMENT | DATE (SITE) | RESULT/NOTES |
| NCAA Ping Preview | 9/19-21 (Opelika, Ala.) | ASU 3rd/Matt Jones 4th |
| Jerry Pate National | 10/18-19 (Birmingham, Ala.) | ASU 6th/Paul Casey T-2nd |
| Golf World Invitational | 11/5-7 (Hilton Head, S.C.) | ASU 5th/Jin Park T-7th |
| Ping/Arizona Intercoll. | 1/30-2/1 (Tucson, Ariz.) | ASU 9th/Matt Jones T-22nd |
| Taylor Made Intercoll. | 2/17-19 (Waikoloa, Hawaii) | ASU 2nd/Paul Casey 3rd |
| USC/Southwestern Classic | 2/28-29 (Los Angeles, Calif.) | ASU 1st/Quinney & Casey T-3rd |
| Las Vegas Intercollegiate | 3/10-12 (Las Vegas, Nev.) | ASU 1st/Paul Casey T-3rd |
| U.S. Collegiate Champ. | 4/7-9 (Los Cabos, Mexico) | ASU 10th/Matt Jones T-24th |
| ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Inv. | 4/15-16 (Tempe, Ariz.) | ASU 1st/Casey 1st |
| Pac-10 Championships | 4/24-26 (Tempe, Ariz.) | ASU 1st/Casey 1st |
| NCAA West Regionals | 5/18-20 (Fresno, Calif.) | ASU 6th/Jin Park T-5th |
| NCAA Championships | 5/31-6/3 (Opelika, Ala.) | ASU champs in '90 and '96 |