June 3, 2013
BERKELEY - Max Homa and Michael Kim earned spots in the 2013 U.S. Open during sectional qualifying for the event across the nation Monday to put three players from Cal's historic 2012-13 team in the field June 13-16 at the Merion Golf Club's East Course in Ardmore, Pa. Weaver received an exemption to the event by finishing as the 2012 U.S. Amateur runner-up.
"This is a great day for Cal golf," head coach Steve Desimone said. "I don't know if any school has ever had three players from the same team in the U.S. Open. What a statement. This is such a spectacular achievement. It's a continuation of this great season. I couldn't be happier for these guys. They've worked so hard and earned every bit of this. All I know is we're going to have another Cal reunion next week at Merion."
"If we needed something to salve the wounds [from losing in the NCAA semifinals] this does it," Desimone added.
Each member of the trio was instrumental in Cal's 2012-13 season when the Bears won 11 of 14 tournaments to set a modern-era NCAA single-season win record previously established with the 10 victories recorded by the 1985-86 Oklahoma State team. Cal was ranked No. 1 in the final 2012-13 team rankings by both Golfweek and Golfstat despite losing to Illinois in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship.
All three 2012-13 Division I PING First-Team All-Americans will play the event as amateurs. Homa wrapped up his collegiate career last Saturday at the NCAA Championship but is still currently an amateur, while Kim and Weaver will be a junior and senior on the school's 2013-14 club.
Kim was the co-medalist Monday at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Ga., earning one of three U.S. Open spots in a field of 51. Homa prevailed in a three-way playoff for the final two spots and ended in a tie for fourth from a field of 102 playing at Big Canyon Country Club & Newport Beach Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif.
Kim (67-66 - 133, -11) put together impressive back-to-back rounds to equal Ryan Nelson for the top score at Hawks Ridge. During his five-under par first round, Kim posted an eagle on the par-four, 320-yard second hole when he reached the green on his drive and made a 20-foot putt. He also had four birdies and one bogey over his first 18 holes. On his second trip around the same course he had seven birdies and a bogey in a six-under par round. Kim was the Jack Nicklaus Award winner as the nation's top collegiate golfer and the Pac-12 Men's Golfer of the Year during the 2012-13 collegiate season, which he also finished ranked No. 1 nationally according to both Golfweek and Golfstat.
"It's an unbelievable feeling to qualify for the U.S. Open," Kim said. "To be playing in the same tournament with players like Tiger [Woods] and Phil [Mickleson] is just awesome. I can't wait to get to the tournament. This is a dream come true."
Homa (66-72 - 138, -5) was one of two players to par the second playoff hole at Big Canyon Country Club after canning an eight-foot par putt on the first playoff hole to stay alive. Homa was near the top of the leader board the entire day, shooting a six-under par round in his first 18 holes at Newport Beach Country Club that were enough to get him into the playoff despite an even-par effort over his final 18 regulation holes at Big Canyon. Homa had six birdies and a bogey at Newport Beach, while his round at Big Canyon included four of each. Homa won individual medalist honors at both the NCAA Championship and Pac-12 Championship at Cal in 2012-13. He was Cal's first NCAA champion and the third player from the school to win the Pac-12 title.
Current Cal golfer Brandon Hagy as well professionals and former Golden Bears James Hahn, Stephen Hale, Peter Tomasulo and Charlie Wi also played in U.S. Open sectional qualifying Monday but did not earn spots in the U.S. Open.
Wi (65-71 - 136, -8) nearly qualified before he was knocked out after a bogey on the second playoff hole at the Lakes Golf & Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. Wi charged into the playoff with birdies on four of his final five holes at the Brookside Golf & Country Club, where he played his second 18 holes. Wi started strong with a seven-under par 65 at Lakes that included eight birdies and a bogey. He cooled off for most of his one-under par 71 at Brookside at three-over par through the first 13 holes of the round with a double bogey, two bogeys and a birdie before his hot streak propelled him into an 11-player playoff for the final seven of 15 spots in a field of 121.
Hahn (69-69 - 138, -2) tied for seventh at the Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Ohio, three strokes out of the second and final qualifying spot in a field of 39 players. He had two birdies and a bogey in his one-under par first round, while shooting the same one-under par total in his second round with four birdies and three bogeys.
Hagy (67-72 - 139, -5) played along with Kim at Hawks Ridge and tied 11th, four strokes out of the third and final qualifying spot. He was in the running for a U.S. Open spot most of the way, shooting an opening-round five-under par 67 that included eight birdies and three bogeys. He got to eight-under par following five birdies on the first eight holes of his second round before playing his final 10 holes in three-over par and finishing his final 18 holes with six birdies and six bogeys to give him totals of 14 birdies and nine bogeys over a wildly up-and-down 36 holes.
Hale (74-74 - 148, +5) tied for 53rd at the Colonial Country Club in Memphis, Tenn., nine strokes out of the ninth and final qualifying spot in a field of 112 players. Hale had eight birdies, 11 bogeys and one double bogey over his 36 holes split between the North and South Course.
Tomasulo (69-71 - 140, -1) tied for 32nd at the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., four strokes out of the eighth and final spot in a field of 122 players. Tomasulo's even-par first round on the South Course included three birdies and three bogeys, while he matched the three birdies in his second round on the North Course and made two bogeys.
Sectional qualifying is the final stage before U.S. Open hopefuls get to the championship itself. The USGA offers 13 sectional sites - 11 in the U.S. that took place Monday and two overseas in Japan and England that had previously taken place. Nearly 1,000 golfers competed Monday at one of the 11 U.S. sites in a one-day 36-hole event at the sectional qualifying level for the approximately 75 remaining available spots in the U.S. Open.
