April 25, 2003
The Arizona State men's golf team competes April 28-30 (Monday-Wednesday) in the 44th annual 72-hole Pac-10 Championships held this year at Oakmont Country Club (par 72, 6,736 yards) in Glendale, Calif. The 10 schools will play 36 holes on Monday, April 28, followed by single rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 29-30. ASU is coming off its best tournament of the year as it shot a tournament record 40-under 832 to win its Thunderbird Invitational on April 11-12 at ASU's Karsten Golf Course. ASU is ranked 16th in the latest Golfweek poll, while Arizona is sixth, UCLA 11th and Washington 20th.
No program has been more dominant in recent Pac-10 play than Arizona State, as it has won 11 Pac-10 titles in its 24 seasons in the league, including six straight from 1995-2000. In addition to the six straight Pac-10 titles, ASU other five Pac-10 titles have come in 1979, 1981, 1989, 1990 and 1993.
ASU has finished in the top five at the NCAAs in five of the past eight years and has won the Pac-10 title six of the past eight years. The Sun Devils also won national championships in 1990 and 1996. ASU is led by 11th-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).
GOING FOR SEVEN: ASU head coach Randy Lein has led ASU to seven Pac-10 titles in his 10 seasons. ASU won titles in 1993, Lein's first year, and then won six straight from 1995-2000. ASU finished second in 2001 and third in 1994. Since joining the Pac-10 in the 1978-79 school year, ASU has finished out of the top five just twice in its 24 championships.
ASU NOTES HEADING INTO PAC-10s: Sun Devil freshman Alejandro Canizares is ranked 25th in the latest Golfweek poll and won the National Invitational Tournament in Tucson on March 30-April 1 with a 4-under 212 (69-73-70). He became the first Sun Devil to win a tournament since Matt Jones tied for the NCAA West Regional title in 2001. He is the first freshman to win a title since Paul Casey won the 1998 West Regional. His 71.27 stroke average in tournaments is the best on the team...junior Chez Reavie, currently 32nd in the Golfweek poll, won the 2001 U.S. Public Links Championship and played in the 2002 Masters. He is coming off the best round in his collegiate career, a 7-under 265 at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational on April 12...senior Brady Stockton won the 2002 Pacific Northwest Golf Association title in July and shot the best tournament of his career in the Thunderbird with a 10-under 206, which tied for fifth...sophomore Kendall Critchfield fired a 65 in the second round of the ASU Invitational, his career best...junior Ben Flam qualified for the 2002 U.S. Amateur...sophomore Jesse Mueller won the 2001 Arizona Amateur.
SCORING: Each team is comprised of six golfers. The five individuals with the low scores for any 18-hole round constitute the scoring members of the team for that given round. The team championship will be awarded to the squad with the lowest total combined score for all rounds. Live scoring will be available via the internet at golfstat.com.
THE DRAW: Per a blind draw by Pac-10 Conference officials, the pairings and order of play for the first two rounds on Monday (April 28): Group 1 (1st Tee - 7:30 a.m.): Stanford, USC Group 2 (1st Tee - 8:18 a.m.): Oregon, Washington Group 3 (1st Tee - 9:06 a.m.): ASU, Oregon State Group 4 (10th Tee - 7:54 a.m.): Cal, Arizona Group 5 (10th Tee - 8:42 a.m.): UCLA, Washington State
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: A practice round will take place on Sunday, April 27. The opening two rounds are Monday, the third round is on Tuesday, and the final round is scheduled for Wednesday (April 30). The starting time for Thursday is 7:30 a.m., Friday and Saturday is 8 a.m.
ASU HEAD COACH RANDY LEIN: Randy Lein has coached 57 tournament victories in his 21 seasons, tutored 43 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 11th season as ASU's coach, Lein has guided ASU to 34 tournament victories (including a school record six in 1995-96), seven Pac-10 titles, four NCAA West Regional wins (three of the past four) and eight top-10 finishes at the NCAAs including the 1996 title. In addition, Lein has tutored NCAA medalist Todd Demsey and 11 All-Americans (23 occasions): Todd Demsey (3), Chris Hanell (3), Paul Casey (3), Cade Stone, Chris Stutts, Joey Snyder (2), Scott Johnson (2), Darren Angel (2), Paul Casey (3), Jeff Quinney (3), Matt Jones and Chez Reavie (1). 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 Cal State Northridge.
CHEZ REAVIE: The 2001 U.S. Public Links Champion...a top-10 finisher in 13 of 26 career events...has finished in the top 10 in eight of 10 tournaments this year...also won the 2001 Mesa City Championship by eight strokes...tied for fourth at the 2001 NCAA Championships after shooting a 7-under 281 (71-67-74-69).
Chez Reavie Year-by-Year Year App Top 10 Rds. Avg. Low 2002-03 10 8 30 71.40 65 2001-02 6 3 19 73.37 67 2000-01 10 2 31 72.58 67 Career 26 13 80 72.33 67 Low Round: 65 in final round of the ASU Thunderbird Invitational on April 12, 2003.
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).
SUN DEVILS AS PAC-10 PLAYER OF THE YEAR: A list of Sun Devils who have won Pac-10 Player of the Year honors: 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), Paul Casey (2000) and Jeff Quinney (2001 co-player of the Year).
NCAA NOTE: 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 in the 1990s.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP: The 2003 NCAA Men's Golf Championship, hosted by Oklahoma State, will be held May 27-30 in Stillwater, Okla., at Karsten Creek. The West Regional, hosted by the University of Washington, will be held at Washington National Golf Club in Auburn, Wash., May 15-17.
DOWN THE ROAD: Arizona will play host to the 2004 Pac-10 Men's Golf Championship. ASU last hosted in 2000.
ASU MEN'S GOLF PAC-10 LINEUP (Tourn.-Rds.-Avg.)
Chez Reavie 5-7/Jr. Mesa, Ariz. 10-30-71.40
Alejandro Canizares 5-10/Fr. Manilva, Spain 5-15-71.75
Brady Stockton 6-3/Sr. San Ramon, Calif. 6-18-72.56
Kendall Critchfield 5-8/So. Mesa, Ariz. 5-15-73.27
Ben Flam 5-10/Jr. Phoenix, Ariz. 9-27-72.89
Jesse Mueller 5-8/So. Mesa, Ariz. 8-24-73.67