April 11, 2000
THE LINEUP: Quick notes on the probable ASU lineup:
(1)-Junior Paul Casey--70.17 stroke average this year...eight of his 18 rounds have been in the 60s...23-under-par this year...49-under in his past 35 rounds...has notched a third-place finish in three of the past four tournaments...two-time defending Pac-10 champions and a two-time second-team All-American.
(2)-Sophomore Matt Jones-71.75 stroke average this year...has three top-10 finishes in eight appearances this year...shot a season-best 6-under 210 (73-68-69) at Las Vegas Intercollegiate.
(3)-Junior Jeff Quinney-72.70 stroke average this year...has three top-10 finishes in nine appearances this year...1999 NCAA West Regional and Thunderbird/SAVANE medalist.
(4)-Junior Jin Park-73.33 stroke average this year...had season-best 9-under at Golf World Invitational...already has played in 31 tournaments in career.
(5)-Senior Jonas Runnquist-73.62 stroke average this year...shot a 66 at the Nelson Invitational in October in the third round...has played in 25 tournaments in his career.
NCAAs: Seven schools have made at least 11 straight trips to the NCAA Championships. The schools and the consecutive years they have contended are: Oklahoma State (53), Clemson (18), Florida (17), Arizona State (16), Arizona (11), UNLV (11), North Carolina (11).
TOURNAMENT DATE (SITE) RESULT/NOTES
| NCAA Ping Preview | 9/19-21 (Opelika, Ala.) | ASU 3rd/Matt Jones 4th |
| Jerry Pate National | 10/18-19 (Birmingham, Ala.) | ASU 6th/Paul Casey T-2nd |
| Golf World Invitational | 11/5-7 (Hilton Head, S.C.) | ASU 5th/Jin Park T-7th |
| Ping/Arizona Intercoll. | 1/30-2/1 (Tucson, Ariz.) | ASU 9th/Matt Jones T-22nd |
| Taylor Made Intercoll. | 2/17-19 (Waikoloa, Hawaii) | ASU 2nd/Paul Casey 3rd |
| USC/Southwestern Classic | 2/28-29 (Los Angeles, Calif.) | ASU 1st/Quinney & Casey T-3rd |
| Las Vegas Intercollegiate | 3/10-12 (Las Vegas, Nev.) | ASU 1st/Paul Casey T-3rd |
| U.S. Collegiate Champ. | 4/7-9 (Los Cabos, Mexico) | ASU 10th/Matt Jones T-24th |
| ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE | ||
| Invitational | 4/15-16 (Tempe, Ariz.) | ASU & Quinney def. champs |
| Pac-10 Championships | 4/24-26 (Tempe, Ariz.) | ASU & Casey def. champs |
| NCAA West Regionals | 5/18-20 (Fresno, Calif.) | ASU & Quinney def. champs |
| NCAA Championships | 5/31-6/3 (Opelika, Ala.) | ASU champs in '90 and '96 |
KARSTEN TO HOST THUNDERBIRD/SAVANE INVITATIONAL: The Arizona State men's golf team plays host on April 15-16 to the 28th annual ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational at ASU's Karsten Golf Course (par-72, 7,027 yards). The 17 teams will play 36 holes on Saturday, April 15, followed by a final round on Sunday, April 16. Play begins both days at 7 a.m., with a shotgun start on Saturday. ASU won the 1999 Thunderbird Invitational and has won the tournament eight of the past 11 years. Jeff Quinney shot a Karsten record 62 on April 18, 1999, in the final round of last year's Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational. Quinney shot a 15-under 201 to win the tournament, and ASU was 30-under and took team honors by 17 strokes over UCLA. ASU has won the Thunderbird Invitational nine times (1984, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1999). Seven times Sun Devils have won the individual title: Mark Sollenberger (1974), Jim Carter (1984), Phil Mickelson (1991 and 1992), Larry Barber (1994), Todd Demsey (1995) and Quinney (1999). Quinney will be trying to defend his crown, something only Phil Mickelson has done in the 27-year history of the tournament. The 17 teams are: Arizona, ASU (two teams), California, Colorado State, Fresno State, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Oregon State, Swedish National Team, TCU, UCLA, UNLV, USC, Washington and Washington State. ASU's lineup will be junior Paul Casey, sophomore Matt Jones, juniors Jeff Quinney and Jin Park and senior Jonas Runnquist. Dating to last year, Casey is 49-under-par in his past 35 rounds.
RESULTS: Results can be obtained by calling Pivotal Communications Info-Connection at (800) 300-2050, passcode 72210 and document number 1681. Please note that with 36 holes played on Saturday, results will probably not be posted until later in the evening. Sunday's finish will be earlier, and results hopefully will be posted by 4 p.m. MST/PT. For specific fax requests, please contact Doug Tammaro at the ASU media relations office at 480-965-5799.
DEVIL DATA: ASU has a current string of 12 straight NCAA top-10 finishes, the best current mark in the nation...ASU also is the only team to finish in the top five at the NCAAs in each of the past five years...ASU has won the Pac-10 title the past five years (a conference record) and in six of the past seven years...the Sun Devils won national championships in 1990 and 199...ASU is led by eighth-year head coach Randy Lein, the 1996 National Coach of the Year and a six-time winner of Pac-10 Coach of the Year (four times at ASU and twice at USC).
RANDY LEIN: Randy Lein has coached 51 tournament victories in 18 seasons, tutored 38 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 eighth season as ASU's coach, Lein has guided ASU to 28 tournament victories (including a school record six in 1995-96), six Pac-10 titles, three NCAA West Regional wins and seven top-10 finishes at the NCAAs including the 1996 title. In addition, Lein has tutored NCAA medalist Todd Demsey and nine All-Americans (18 occasions): Todd Demsey (3), Chris Hanell (3), Cade Stone, Chris Stutts, Joey Snyder (2), Scott Johnson (2), Darren Angel (2), Jeff Quinney (2) and Paul Casey (2). He has won Pac-10 Coach-of-the-Year four times (1993, 1995, 1996 and 1999) while at ASU and twice at USC (1980 and 1986). Lein (pronounced ?Line?) is a 1975 graduate of CS Northridge.
JUNIOR ALL-AMERICAN PAUL CASEY: A two-time second-team All-American and the two-time defending Pac-10 champion...also the 1999 English Amateur Champion...has eight rounds in the 60s this year (out of 18)...dating to last year, Casey is 49-under in his past 35 rounds...has notched a third-place finish in three of his past four tournaments...is 23-under-par in 18 rounds this year...Casey shot an NCAA record 60 on the final day of the 1999 Pac-10 Championships (April 28)...also the 1999 English Amateur champion...medalist at 1998 and 1999 Pac-10 Championships, 1998 Cleveland Golf Southwestern Invitational and 1998 West Regional.
| Year | App | Top 10 | Rds. | Avg. | Low |
| 1999-00 | 6 | 4 | 18 | 70.17 | 65 |
| 1998-99 | 12 | 7 | 37 | 72.16 | 60 |
| 1997-98 | 12 | 5 | 37 | 72.30 | 65 |
| Career | 30 | 16 | 92 | 71.83 | 60 |
Low Round: 60 at the 1999 Pac-10 Championships, held in Seattle, in the fourth and final round.
CASEY ON THE CHARTS: Paul Casey has already captured four tournament championships. Casey won the 1998 ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational, the 1998 NCAA West Regional and the 1998 and 1999 Pac-10 Championships. A look at Casey on the ASU career wins list:
| Rk. | Name (Years) | Wins |
| 1. | Phil Mickelson (1989-92) | 16 |
| 2. | Billy Mayfair (1985-88) | 8 |
| 3. | Charlie Gibson (1972-75) | 6 |
| 4. | Todd Demsey (1992-95) | 5 |
| 5. | Howard Twitty (1970-72) | 4 |
| Scott Watkins (1978-79) | 4 | |
| Dan Croonquist (1976-79) | 4 | |
| Paul Casey (1997-present) | 4 | |
| 9. | Jim Carter (1981-84) | 3 |
SOPHOMORE MATT JONES: Has been in the top 10 in two of his past three tournaments...improved his scored each day at the 1999 NCAA Championships (79-78-76-73)...tied for 10th this past summer at Porter Cup but equaled tournament record with 62 in opening round...has eight rounds in the 60s in brief career.
| Year | App | Top 10 | Rds. | Avg. | Low | |
| 1999-00 | 8 | 3 | 24 | 71.75 | 67 | |
| 1998-99 | 8 | 2 | 26 | 73.38 | 68 | |
| Career | 16 | 5 | 50 | 72.60 | 67 |
Low Round: 67 at the 1999 Ping Preview, held in Opelika, Ala., in the third and final round.
JUNIOR ALL-AMERICAN JEFF QUINNEY: Has three top-10 finishes this year...tied for third at USC Southwestern Classic with a 2-under 214 (74-70-70)...medalist at 1999 West Regional and ASU Thunder/SAVANE Invitational...best round this year was a 66 in the first round of the Jerry Pate Intercollegiate.
| Year | App | Top 10 | Rds. | Avg. | Low | |
| 1999-00 | 9 | 3 | 27 | 72.70 | 66 | |
| 1998-99 | 13 | 5 | 40 | 72.50 | 62 | |
| 1997-98 | 11 | 3 | 35 | 72.57 | 68 | |
| Career | 33 | 11 | 102 | 72.58 | 62 |
Low Round: 62 at the 1999 ASU Thunderbird/SAVANE Invitational, held in Tempe, in the third and final round.
JUNIOR JIN PARK: Had a 9-under-par 207(71-68-68) at the Golf World Invitational and tied for seventh....has three top-10 finishes in his career...best career finish was a tie for fourth at 1998 Pac-10 Championships.
| Year | App | Top 10 | Rds. | Avg. | Low |
| 1999-00 | 8 | 1 | 24 | 73.33 | 68 |
| 1998-99 | 12 | 1 | 36 | 73.97 | 66 |
| 1997-98 | 11 | 1 | 34 | 73.85 | 66 |
| Career | 31 | 3 | 94 | 73.77 | 66 |
Low Round: 66, twice, at the 1999 Ping Intercollegiate, held in Tucson., in the second round and at the 1998 Pac-10 Championships, held in Orinda, Calif., in the third round.
SENIOR JONAS RUNNQUIST: Shot a career-best 66 at the Nelson Invitational in third round on Oct. 31...tied for fourth at the Nelson.
| Year | App | Top 10 | Rds. | Avg. | Low |
| 1999-00 | 7 | 1 | 21 | 73.62 | 66 |
| 1998-99 | 10 | 1 | 31 | 75.06 | 67 |
| 1997-98 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 75.00 | 70 |
| 1996-97 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 77.06 | 72 |
| Career | 25 | 2 | 76 | 75.13 | 66 |
Low Round: 66 at the 1999 Nelson Invitational, held at Stanford, in the third and final round.
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 past decade.