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Bears Take Aim At Pac-12 Championship

by calbears.com
Apr 24, 2024
Eric Lee and the Golden Bears will play for their first Pac-12 Championship title since 2013 this weekend.

BERKELEY – The 21st-ranked California men's golf team begins its quest for a Pac-12 Championship with 36 holes on Friday in the first of three consecutive days at Desert Forest Golf Club in Carefree, Arizona. The Pac-12 field – which features seven top-30 squads – will play 18 holes on both Saturday and Sunday before a champion is crowned.
 
Split tee times will be utilized beginning at 6:30 a.m. and noon PT for Friday's 36 holes, 9 a.m. for Saturday's third round, and 7:30 a.m. for Sunday's final round. Daily 30-minute highlight shows will air on Pac-12 Network at 10 a.m. PT the morning following each day of competition.
 
TOURNAMENT INFO

  • Dates: April 26-28, 2024
  • Format: 72 holes (36-18-18, Friday-Sunday); 6-count-5
  • Location: Carefree, Arizona | Desert Forest Golf Club
  • Course Info: Par 71 | 7,203 Yards
  • Host: Arizona State
  • Live Scoring: Golfstat
  • Pairings: Golfstat

THE FIELD (12)
#3 Arizona State, #8 Arizona, #10 Washington, #21 Cal, #24 Oregon, #29 Stanford, #30 UCLA, #53 Utah, #58 Oregon State, #61 Washington State, #66 Colorado, #104 USC
 
OFF THE TEE
1. Sampson Zheng
2. Eric Lee
3. Ethan Fang
4. Aaron Du
5. Jeewon Park
6. Nathan Wang
 
CHIP SHOTS

  • Cal owns a 109-40-3 record with two tournament victories, six top-3 finishes and seven top-5 finishes in 10 stroke-play events this season. The two wins came back-to-back in October at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational and the Cal Poly Invitational. The Bears also defeated Stanford in the annual Big Match in September.
  • Cal's No. 21 ranking is the fourth-best in the Pac-12 Championship field, trailing only No. 3 Arizona State, No. 8 Arizona and No. 10 Washington.
  • The Bears have held a national ranking for the entire spring season, ranking as high as No. 17.
  • Cal most recently finished third in the prestigious Western Intercollegiate, shooting the tournament's low 18-hole score of 344 in the final round to climb five spots.
  • Sampson Zheng will lead the charge for Cal, ranking 41st nationally (Clippd) and 19th in PGA TOUR University. The senior has four top-10 finishes this season, including three in a row since early March; 10th at the Cabo Collegiate, sixth at The Goodwin and fourth at the Western Intercollegiate.
  • Four of Cal's six golfers have previously competed at the Pac-12 Championship, highlighted by Zheng and Aaron Du. Zheng has finished 10th at Pac-12s each of the past two seasons, while Du has finished inside the top 15 three times, placing seventh (2021), 10th (2022) and 15th (2023).
  • Freshmen Eric Lee and Ethan Fang have impressed all season, playing in nine and 10 stroke-play events, respectively. Lee won his collegiate debut at the Marquette Intercollegiate and has placed inside the top 15 in three other tournaments – most recently 14th at the Western – while Fang has five top-15 finishes, including second place at the Pauma Valley Invitational.
  • Nathan Wang closed the fall season with two consecutive top-10 finishes at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational and Cal Poly Invitational.
  • The Bears went back-to-back in 2012 and 2013 for the only Pac-12 team titles in program history and have placed among the top three on three different occasions since then, most recently in 2019.
  • Four Cal golfers – Charlie Wi (1995), Eric Mina (2010), Max Homa (2013) and Collin Morikawa (2019) – have been crowned as the Pac-12 individual medalist.

STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's golf, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalMensGolf), Instagram (@CalMensGolf) and Facebook (/CalMensGolf).

 

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