Cal Moves Into Second At Pac-12 Championship
CAREFREE, Ariz. – Sampson Zheng carded a 6-under-par 65 and 21st-ranked California moved into a tie for second place in the third round of the Pac-12 Men's Golf Championship at Desert Forest Golf Club on Saturday.
The Golden Bears (+33) shot a third-round 5-over-par 360 – the lowest in the tournament field on Saturday – and ended the penultimate day of the Pac-12 Championship tied with Washington (+33) and just three shots behind leader Arizona State (+30) with 18 holes to play. Zheng (+3) climbed 27 spots on the individual leaderboard into a tie for fifth place while freshman Ethan Fang (-1) shot even-par 71 and will enter the final round in sole possession of second, one stroke behind clubhouse leader Wenyi Ding (-2) of Arizona State.
Zheng was Cal's anchor all day, tallying seven birdies, including four throughout a bogey-free back nine holes. The senior – who has two career top-10 finishes at the Pac-12 Championship – shot 76-75 on the first day of the tournament and was tied for 32nd after 36 holes. Fang notched a birdie on the par-4 hole 5 and later bogeyed hole 12, but otherwise maintained his position at the front of the field.
Both Fang and Zheng will start the final round of the Pac-12 Championship within striking distance of an individual title. Four Golden Bears – Charlie Wi (1995), Eric Mina (2010), Max Homa (2013) and Collin Morikawa (2019) – have been crowned as the Pac-12 individual medalist.
Eric Lee (+9) and Jeewon Park (+12) are tied for 18th and 27th through 54 holes. Lee carded three back nine birdies but triple-bogeyed the 18th to finish the round at 3-over.
Aaron Du, who was tied for 39th after 36 holes, was disqualified Saturday after signing for an incorrect scorecard.
Highlights from the third round will air on Pac-12 Network at 10 a.m. PT Sunday morning.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
| Place | Team | To Par | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
| 1 | Arizona State | +30 | 368 | 365 | 362 | 1095 | |
| T2 | Washington | +33 | 349 | 374 | 375 | 1098 | |
| T2 | California | +33 | 368 | 370 | 360 | 1098 | |
| 4 | Oregon | +35 | 368 | 362 | 70 | 1100 | |
| 5 | Stanford | +41 | 359 | 378 | 369 | 1106 | |
| 6 | Oregon State | +60 | 375 | 380 | 370 | 1125 | |
| 7 | UCLA | +62 | 370 | 381 | 376 | 1127 | |
| 8 | Arizona | +65 | 378 | 382 | 370 | 1130 | |
| 9 | Colorado | +70 | 370 | 390 | 375 | 1135 | |
| 10 | Utah | +73 | 366 | 394 | 378 | 1138 | |
| 11 | USC | +79 | 374 | 396 | 374 | 1144 | |
| 12 | Washington State | +82 | 381 | 389 | 377 | 1147 |
CAL ON INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
| Place | Name | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total |
| 2 | Ethan Fang | 71 | 70 | 71 | 212 (-1) | |
| T5 | Sampson Zheng | 76 | 75 | 65 | 216 (+3) | |
| T18 | Eric Lee | 74 | 74 | 74 | 222 (+9) | |
| T27 | Jeewon Park | 71 | 78 | 76 | 225 (+12) | |
| T34 | Nathan Wang | 76 | 77 | 74 | 227 (+14) | |
| T71 | Aaron Du | 78 | 74 | DQ | N/A |
UP NEXT
The Bears will be paired with Arizona State and Washington in the final round of the Pac-12 Championship. Tee times range between 8:36-9:31 a.m. PT.
STAY POSTED
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