Freshman’s 67 Leads UCI Golfers

UC Irvine freshman Steve Holmes hasn’t finished higher than 59th in a golf tournament this season. But Coach Steve Ainslie put him in the top five in the postseason because he believed Holmes, though not consistent, was capable of coming up with a low round.

Holmes came through Wednesday with a career-best 67 in the first round of the NCAA championships on the University of New Mexico’s Championship Course--a 7,246-yard course nicknamed “The Monster.”

His five-under 67 put him in a three-way tie for second place, though, as Phil Mickelson of Arizona State shot a nine-under 63, tying the NCAA tournament record.

Mickelson tied the 63 by Jim Begwin in the 1984 tournament at the Pinehurst No. 2 course in North Carolina. His clinic in flawless golf also equaled the University of New Mexico course record by pro Jay Cudd and broke the previous course record by a collegian of 65, accomplished by five players.

Holmes wasn’t the only Irvine golfer to shoot in the 60s. The Anteaters’ No. 1 player, sophomore William Yanagisawa, shot 68. He is tied for fifth after the first round.

But with the other three Irvine players unable to break 80--Joey Sugar (82), Lyle Archer (80) and Adam Horodyski (80) all shot the highest rounds of their seasons--the team appears to be on the bubble in trying to make the cut to approximately 15 teams after today’s second round. The low six individuals whose teams do not make the cut will also advance.

Arizona State opened a six-stroke lead over defending champion Oklahoma State, its nearest challenger in the 30-team field, by shooting 12-under 276. Irvine was tied for 18th at 7-over 295.

Holmes, who is from Newbury Park, needed 29 putts Wednesday and missed only three greens.

“I won’t have another 67, I know that,” Holmes said. “But there’s no pressure on me. The pressure is on (defending champion Warren Schutte of Nevada Las Vegas) and Phil Mickelson. We’re just happy to be here and able to hit (practice) balls for free.”

With two holes left on the par-72 course, Holmes was seven-under, on pace to tie the collegiate course record.

But he struggled with his 3-iron and bogeyed the final two holes.

Holmes came up short on the 248-yard, par-3 17th and bogeyed.

After hammering his driver in the middle of the fairway of the 604-yard, par-5, 18th, he snapped a 3-iron into the desert. He punched a 7-iron into a greenside bunker, then missed the par-saving five-footer.

After Holmes birdied the 460-yard par-4 16th--the toughest hole on the course--it appeared as if the record might fall to him. Instead, he settled for a 67, only his fourth round of par or under this season.

“I’m so proud of that kid, I’ll tell you,” Ainslie said. “He wasn’t supposed to be there. I chose him, and it was tough because a couple of kids maybe deserved to go ahead of him. We took him, and the guy had a very major role in getting us here.”

Holmes also came through for Irvine during the NCAA West Regional, helping the Anteaters advance to the championship tournament by shooting a 72 on the final day--including a 33 on the back nine.

The Anteaters, who won the NCAA Division II title in 1975, are in the championships for the first time since moving up to Division I in 1977.