Cal Places Third At Arizona Intercollegiate
TUCSON, Ariz. – The California men's golf team rounded out an impressive start to its spring season with a third-place finish in the Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate on Tuesday at Tucson Country Club.
The Golden Bears finished at 23-under-par (278-276-287 – 841) and were in the mix for much of Tuesday's round-and-a-half of play as they battled it out with tournament champion Texas A&M (-36) and host Arizona (-33). Cal's second-round 276 tied the team's season low for a single round; the Bears were in sole possession of second place and just two shots behind the Aggies early on in the final round of competition before faltering late.
All six competing Bears finished under par, led by Jeewon Park (69-69-73) and Costas Panay (68-70-73), who tied for 14th individually at 5-under (211). Park's 5-under 211 was the best 54-hole performance of his collegiate career while Panay's tie for 14th was his best collegiate finish. Three Bears – Aaron Du (68), Sampson Zheng (69) and Park (69) – shot a 3-under 69 or better in the second round, which was resumed on Tuesday after play was suspended due to darkness on Monday evening.
Zheng (73-69-70) and Nathan Wang (71-73-68), who played as an individual, tied for 19th at 4-under (212). Du (71-68-74 – 213) tied for 24th at 3-under while Daniel Heo shot a 2-under 214 (70-73-71) to tie for 27th in the best 54-hole effort of his young collegiate career.
Cal's 23-under 841 was its best 54-hole score since shooting a 16-under 836 at the Cabo Collegiate in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on Feb. 27-March 1, 2022.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
| Place | Team | To Par | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
| 1 | #11 Texas A&M | -36 | 270 | 278 | 280 | 828 |
| 2 | #22 Arizona | -33 | 276 | 277 | 278 | 831 |
| 3 | California | -23 | 278 | 276 | 287 | 841 |
| 4 | BYU | -16 | 275 | 285 | 288 | 848 |
| 5 | Long Beach State | -11 | 285 | 280 | 288 | 853 |
| 6 | #49 SMU | -10 | 288 | 282 | 284 | 854 |
| 7 | New Mexico | -6 | 289 | 284 | 285 | 858 |
| 8 | Iowa State | -5 | 287 | 285 | 287 | 859 |
| 9 | Saint Mary's | -4 | 297 | 283 | 280 | 860 |
| 10 | Santa Clara | +1 | 285 | 289 | 291 | 865 |
| 11 | West Virginia | +5 | 298 | 291 | 280 | 869 |
| T12 | Cal Poly | +7 | 292 | 281 | 298 | 871 |
| T12 | Seattle U | +7 | 289 | 288 | 294 | 871 |
| 14 | New Mexico State | +11 | 288 | 291 | 296 | 875 |
| 15 | Central Michigan | +40 | 300 | 304 | 300 | 904 |
CAL ON INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
| Place | Name | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
| T14 | Jeewon Park | 69 (-3) | 69 (-3) | 73 (+1) | 211 (-5) |
| T14 | Costas Panay | 68 (-4) | 70 (-2) | 73 (+1) | 211 (-5) |
| T19 | Sampson Zheng | 73 (+1) | 69 (-3) | 70 (-2) | 212 (-4) |
| T19 | Nathan Wang (Ind.) | 71 (-2) | 73 (+1) | 68 (-4) | 212 (-4) |
| T24 | Aaron Du | 71 (-1) | 68 (-4) | 74 (+2) | 213 (-3) |
| T27 | Daniel Heo | 70 (-2) | 73 (+1) | 71 (-1) | 214 (-2) |
UP NEXT
Cal travels to Lihue, Hawaii for the John A. Burns Intercollegiate on Feb. 16-18. The three-day tournament will be played at the Ocean Course Hokuala. Cal junior Aaron Du is the tournament's reigning individual medalist, having carded a 13-under 203 at last year's event.
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