Fresno State Athletics
Dogs Prep for Lexus Classic
3/4/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
March 4, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - Fresno State hosts the annual Fresno Lexus Classic at the beautiful San Joaquin Country Club, site of the 1983 NCAA Championship tournament. The event has been held on one of the area's premier golf courses since 1964 and the past winners read as a who's who of PGA tour stars including Phil Mickelson, Tom Watson, Jerry Heard, Bobby Clampett, Craig Stadler and Nick Watney. The 2010 field includes seven teams ranked in the Top 50 nationally, led by No. 3 Oregon, coached by Casey Martin, No. 6 Washington (defending Lexus champion) and No. 45 Michigan, a Final Four team from last year. The tournament format will be a six-man line-up for each team with the top five scores each round counting toward the team score.
The Bulldog lineup: Bhavik Patel, Grant Doverspike, Bryan Hogan, Adam Barkow, Michael Gideon, Brian Sunker
The Course and Set-up
Course: San Joaquin Country Club Yardage: 6,802 Yards Par: 71 Format: Monday, March 8, 8 a.m. PT (Shotgun for 36 holes) Tuesday, March 9, 8 a.m. (Tee times, 18 holes)
2010 Field (Top 50 ranking): (BYU, No. 21, Cal, Cal Poly, No. 41 Fresno State, U.C. Irvine, Kansas State, No. 45 Michigan, Nevada, No. 3 Oregon, Pacific, No. 43 Pepperdine, Sacramento State, Saint Mary's, No. 24 San Diego, San Jose State, No. 6 Washington)
Lexus Classic History
The Fresno State Lexus Golf Classic began in 1964 under the direction of former Fresno State golf coach Larry Pape. His venture, which began with six of the best West Coast teams, has blossomed into one of the most prestigious events on the collegiate tour. From 1967 through 1974, seven of the eight Classic individual champions went on to PGA stardom. Stanford's Tom Watson won the title in 1969 and USC's Craig Stadler won back-to-back championships in 1973-74. Fresno State won its first Classic in 1973, led by All-American and current head coach, Mike Watney, who finished one stroke behind Stadler. Other big names that have competed in the tournament include Johnny Miller, 1971 champion Ray Leach, 1979-80 champion Bobby Clampett, Scott Simpson, Wille Wood, Billy Andrade, Arron Oberholser, 1988 champion Mike Springer, 1989 champion Phil Mickelson, 2001-02 champion Nick Watney and Tim Norris. Fresno State has claimed a total of six team championships and six individual championships (Jerry Heard, 1967-68; Bob Berkler, 1970; Dana Booth, 1977 and Nick Watney in 2001 and 2002) in 46 tournaments through¬out the years. In 2002, Nick Watney became just the sixth collegiate golfer to win back-to-back Classic titles. He joins the likes of Jerry Heard, Craig Stadler, Mike Brannan, Bobby Clampett and Sam Randolph.
About Last Week
The Fresno State Bulldogs were right in the middle of a tough field at the annual USC Invitational, finishing the tournament in seventh place with a 2-over par score of 854, just three strokes behind the host No. 16 Trojans, and ahead of No. 2 Stanford and No. 8 UCLA, which finished eighth and ninth, respectively. Oregon ran away with the tournament title shooting 21-under par, 16 shots ahead of second place Cal. Both of those teams are in the Fresno Lexus Classic next week. Bryan Hogan had his best tournament as a Bulldog with a tie for fifth place, shooting 4-under par.
"We Are Your Team!" The Fresno State Bulldogs will host the 47th Annual Fresno Lexus Classic at San Joaquin Country Club March 8-9. Play begins each day at 8 a.m. and admission is free.
