Brandon Hagy
STANFORD, Calif. (May 18, 2012) -- Cal (276-270 - 546, -14) moved into first place at the end of the second round of action Friday at the NCAA Stanford Regional. Michael Kim (67-64 - 131, -9) led the way by shooting a six-under par 64 that was the lowest round of his collegiate career and made the freshman the second-round leader heading into Saturday's third and final round of action at the Stanford Golf Course.
Both the Golden Bears and Kim will take one-shot advantages into Saturday's final 18 holes that begin at 7:30 a.m. PT.
Cal is one shot ahead of San Diego State (282-265 - 547, -13) after 36 holes, with the Aztecs shooting the best round of the day Friday at 15-under par to vault up six places in the team standings. Host Stanford (277-275 - 552, -8), Alabama-Birmingham (278-274 - 552, -8) and Tennessee (280-273 - 553, -7) are currently holding the other coveted spots in the top five.
The top five teams from each of six regional events taking place around the country thru Saturday will qualify for the 30-team field at the NCAA Championship to be contested May 29 - June 3 at The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.
Cal has qualified for the NCAA Championship each of the past two seasons after tying for third in the 2010 NCAA San Diego Regional and finishing alone in third at the NCAA Arizona Regional last year. Cal had never been better than fourth at an NCAA Regional level prior to 2010. The Bears did win an NCAA title in 2004.
Kim leads Pepperdine's Josh Anderson (67-65 - 132, -8) and BYU's Zachary Blair (66-66 - 132, -8) by one shot each. Both of his closest competitors are playing the event as individuals.
Brandon Hagy (67-66 - 133, -7) and San Diego State's J.J. Spaun (70-63 - 133, -7), who had the lowest round of the day with a seven-under par 63, sit another stroke back.
An individual victory for Kim would be his first and also give the Bears their first NCAA Regional individual medalist in school history. Cal, the nation's second-ranked and the top-seeded in the NCAA Stanford Regional, has had a banner 2011-12 season to this point with a series of school firsts that include a Pac-12 Championship title, five team victories and top-five finishes in each of the first 12 events.
Pace Johnson will be the first Cal golfer off the tee Saturday at 8:45 a.m., with Joël Stalter, Max Homa, Hagy and Kim following in 11-minute intervals.
ABOUT THE
NCAA Division I West Regional
54 hole men's NCAA Regional from which the
low
teams advance to the NCAA Championship.
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