May 17, 2007

TEMPE, Ariz. - Michael Jensen picked a good day to post his best round of the season for the California men's golf team. The junior fired an opening round 66 (minus-6) to rank among the top golfers of the day (tied for third) as the Golden Bears recorded a 280 (-8) in the first round of the NCAA West Regional on Thursday at Karsten Golf Course. The 280 is the top round for Cal this spring and puts the Bears in ninth place in the 27-team field.

The Golden Bears will continue action on Friday morning, teeing off beginning at 11:42 a.m. Live stats will be available by visiting www.GolfStat.com.

UCLA is the day one leader with an impressive 268 (-20), while South Carolina is second with a 273 (-15). Arizona State and New Mexico are tied for third at 275 (-13), while Stanford, USC and Pepperdine are tied for fifth place at 277 (-11). The top 10 teams and top two individuals not on those teams will advance to the 2007 NCAA Championships held in Williamsburg, Va., May 30-June 2 at Golden Horseshoe Golf Club (hosted by Virginia Commonwealth).

"This is all about positioning," head coach Steve Desimone said. "You want to get off to a great start. This is a tremendous field; I think it's the toughest of the three regionals with 21 or 22 teams good enough to finish in the top 10. You can't just have your "A" game, you need an "A+." Michael Jensen obviously had a great round. We have one day down and have two more to go. We feel pretty good, but still have a huge task in front of us. It was great to see us finish the round well today. That's the kind of stuff good teams do. Now we have to see if we can back it up and do it not once, but twice."

Jensen's 66 matches his collegiate best round set in the fall of 2005 at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational, hosted by Cal.

"Michael's been playing well all year," Desimone said. "He's worked really hard and he played about a solid round of golf as you're going to see. No surprise at all. When you hit it like he does and make some putts, the game gets easy."

While Jensen was consistent all morning with seven birdies and just one bogey, he was not the only Golden Bear posting an outstanding round. Sophomore George Gandranata had four birdies and just two bogeys to finish at a minus-2 70 and junior Brandon Beck shot a 71 with five birdies.

"We did a lot of things right, but we still did a few things wrong," Desimone said. "We still gave away a few shots. Brandon just finished a final yesterday, and did not have a lot of rest, but he really dug in. He could have matched Michael.

"The idea is to stay hydrated because it's a 100-plus. This morning, it was very windy. The scores dropped in the afternoon when the wind died. If we can handle the heat tomorrow afternoon and the conditions stay the same, we have a chance to put up another good score. It's all about positioning. We want to tee off with the leaders on Saturday."

Freshman Chris Jensen, Michael's younger brother, also was solid, though a late double-bogey let him slip above par with a 73 for the day. Senior Michael Wilson rounded out the field for Cal, finishing at 75.

CALIFORNIA SCORING
NCAA West Regional (Hosted by Arizona State)
Karsten Golf Course (Par 72, 7,033 yards)
Tempe, Ariz.

Team Place: Ninth (after round one)
Score: 280 (-8)
Individuals:
T3. Michael Jensen: 66 (-6)
T40. George Gandranata: 70 (-2)
T55. Brandon Beck: 71 (-1)
T85. Chris Jensen: 73 (+1)
T108. Michael Wilson: 75 (+3)

Team Standings:
1. UCLA: 268 (-20)
2. South Carolina: 273 (-15)
3. Arizona State: 275 (-13)
3. New Mexico: 275 (-13)
5. Stanford: 277 (-11)
5. USC: 277 (-11)
5. Pepperdine: 277 (-11)
8. East Tennessee State: 278 (-10)
9. California: 280 (-8)
10. Oregon State: 281 (-7)
10. UNLV: (281 (-7)
12. Arizona: 282 (-6)
13. BYU: 283 (-5)
13. Vanderbilt: 283 (-5)
15. Augusta State: 284 (-4)
15. Colorado State: 284 (-4)
15. Washington: 284 (-4)
18. Denver: 285 (-3)
18. Wake Forest: 285 (-3)
20. Pennsylvania: 288 (E)
21. Nevada: 289 (+1)
21. UC-Irvine: 289 (+1)
23. Oregon: 292 (+4)
24. San Diego State: 296 (+8)
25. Detroit: 297 (+9)
26. Bucknell: 299 (+11)
27. Monmouth: 302 (+14)