Cal Advances To NCAA Championships

The Golden Bears placed second at the Rancho Santa Fe Regional and advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2019.

MGOLF5/15/2024 3:57 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Golden Bears Place Second In Rancho Santa Fe Regional, Punch Ticket To Carlsbad

RANCHO SANTA FE – California will return to the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships for the first time since 2019 and 13th time in program history, punching its ticket with a second-place finish at the Rancho Santa Fe Regional at The Farms Golf Club on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The 22nd-ranked and fourth-seeded Golden Bears shot their lowest 18-hole score of the regional with a 1-under-par 279 in the third round and finished the 54-hole championship event at 3-over-par (280-284-279 – 843). Oklahoma shot a scorching 11-under-par 269 in the third round to climb four spots and clinch the regional title, while Oklahoma State (+5), West Virginia (+5) and North Florida (+10) rounded out the five advancing teams that will play in the NCAA Championships on May 24-29 in Carlsbad.
 
“I’m extremely proud of this group – all week they showed a tremendous amount of grit and determination,” Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men’s Golf Walter Chun said. “There’s a great deal of pressure at this level, and they handled it so well. I’m thankful for this team and excited to see them play for a national championship.”
 
Sampson Zheng completed an impressive individual week at The Farms, tying for second place individually at 4-under-par to lead the Bears. The Cal senior entered the day atop the leaderboard at 5-under-par and got off to a hot start, going 2-under on the front nine with birdies on holes 1, 3 and 7. A double-bogey on hole 12 tripped him up, however, and an additional bogey on 16 moved him to 1-over on the day. Oklahoma’s Ben Lorenz (-8) was the individual medalist, shooting a regional-low 6-under 64 in the third round to surpass Zheng.
 
Just a day after he was substituted into the lineup in place of Kuangyu (Tony) Chen, it was Nathan Wang who delivered Cal’s best third-round score with a 3-under 67. The sophomore was nearly flawless, carding a birdie on hole 3 before adding four more on the back nine to work around a double-bogey on 13. He finished with a 36-hole score of even-par 140.
 
Eric Lee rounded out an…