Sampson Zheng Tied For Eighth After Opening Day Of The Goodwin

STANFORD, Calif. – Sampson Zheng carded seven birdies on his way to a four-under par 66 in the opening round of The Goodwin at the Stanford Golf Course on Thursday. The sophomore is tied for eighth after the first 18 holes of the 54-hole event named in honor of late Stanford men's golf head coach Wally Goodwin, who passed away last July at the age of 94. Cal (283, +3) is tied for 19th in the 28-team field.

Zheng's round included a birdie putt from 25 feet on the par-three fourth and another from 40 feet on the par-four 10th. His round was also highlighted by birdies on three of the course's four par-three holes (4, 8, 17). Zheng played the final six holes in two-under par with birdies on 15 and 17 after his third and final bogey of the round on the par-four 12th.

"Today was a very solid start," Zheng said. "I managed my mistakes well and made some good putts."

"Sampson played really well today," Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf said. "He's been working on his game, and it's nice to see his effort paying off."

Tony Chen (71, +1), Ethan Chung (73, +3), Aaron Du (73, +3) and Finigan Tilly (73, +3) are also in the Cal lineup. Chen is tied for 71st in the 147-player field, while Chang, Du and Tilly are tied for 99th.

Cal continues the event with second-round action Friday with second-round action. The Bears start on the 10th hole with Chung the first off the tee at 12:10 pm followed in 14-minute increments by Chen, Zheng, Du and Tilly.

"There's a lot more golf to go for us," Chun said.

"I think with conditions like today the birdies will come as long as we keep playing consistent and give ourselves opportunities," Zheng added. "We just have to keep it simple and not force anything [and keep hitting] fairways and greens."

Stanford (268, -12) is on top of the team leaderboard after 18 holes while the Cardinal's Barclay Brown and San Jose State's Kristopher Stiles are tied for the individual lead two shots ahead of Sampson after opening rounds of six-under par 64.