Zheng Wins Share Of Title At Burns Intercollegiate

Sampson Zheng shot 18-under-par over 54 holes to earn co-medalist honors at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate.

MGOLF2/17/2023 10:44 PM | By: Cal Athletics

Golden Bear Earns Co-Medalist Honors, Cal Rallies To Finish Fourth On Kaua’i

LIHU’E, Hawaii – Sampson Zheng sunk three birdies and an eagle over his final six holes to roar back for a share of the individual title at the 2023 John A. Burns Intercollegiate on Friday at the Ocean Course Hokuala. Zheng, who twice carded a collegiate-low 65 in as many days on the way to an 18-under-par finish (65-68-65 – 198), shared co-individual medalist honors with Texas A&M’s Sam Bennett.
 
Tournament officials declared Zheng and Bennett co-champions due to a lack of daylight remaining for a playoff as well as the threat of inclement weather on Saturday.
 

Zheng’s career performance powered Cal to a fourth-place finish on the team leaderboard, trailing only tournament champion BYU (-54), No. 19 Arizona (-36) and No. 9 Texas A&M (-32). The Golden Bears (277-288-272 – 837) finished 27-under and used a 272 to climb three spots up the leaderboard during the third round.
 
Zheng’s share of the individual title – the first of his collegiate career – made it two consecutive years that a Golden Bear has claimed medalist honors at the Burns Intercollegiate, as Aaron Du won the title outright in 2022. Cal now has six all-time individual medalists at the Burns Intercollegiate, tied with New Mexico for the most in tournament history.
 
After shooting a first-round 65 and even par through the first 10 holes of the second round before play was suspended due to darkness on Thursday, Zheng got right back to business on Friday. The junior birdied four of his remaining eight holes in the second round and rolled into the final 18 with ease, picking up birdies on four consecutive holes between 10 and 13 at one point. With three holes to go and two shots off the lead, Zheng picked up a critical eagle on hole 4 to move into a four-way tie for first place. After Bennett moved to 18-under with a birdie on hole 18, Zheng answered with one of his own on hole 6 to secure a share of the title.
 
While Zheng was the motor for Cal’s third-round climb up the leaderboard, redshirt junior Costas Panay made an impact with a 5-under 67….