MGOLF9/13/2015 7:06 AM | By: Cal Athletics
Cal Opens 2015-16 Season At Gopher Invitational Sunday-Monday
Quick Hitters
► Cal's lineup for its 2015-16 opener is KK Limbhasut, Collin Morikawa, Sebastian Crampton, Jamie Cheatham and Shotaro Ban
► Steve Desimone begins his 37th season as the head coach when Cal opens its 2015-16 campaign September 13-14 at the Gopher Invitational hosted by Minnesota at Windsong Farm Golf Club (par-71, 7,152 yards)
► Cal had a string of five consecutive seasons reaching the NCAA Championships field of 30 snapped at five a year ago when the Golden Bears finished seventh only one spot out of a tie for fifth and the final advancing spot at the NCAA Lubbock Regional
► Cal established a school record in 2014-15 by making its ninth straight NCAA Regional appearance
► Cal is beginning its season with the Gopher Invitational for the fourth consecutive campaign having finished second in its most recent appearance to open the 2014 fall campaign after winning the event the first time they played it in their 2012 fall opener and taking fourth to open the 2013 fall season
► In addition to Cal, the 16-team field for the 2015 Gopher Invitational includes two teams from host Minnesota as well as Baylor, Charlotte, East Tennessee State, Iowa, Iowa State, Kent State, Michigan, Michigan State, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Pepperdine, SMU and St. John's (MN)
► Ban and Limbhasut are the only two players in the 2015 lineup to have previously played at the Gopher Invitational with Ban tying for 27th in 2013 and tying for 40th in 2014, while Limbhasut tied for 30th at the tournament in his first collegiate event in 2014
► Cal's lineup for the 2015 Gopher Invitational includes a pair of freshmen (Morikawa, Cheatham), two sophomores (Limbhasut, Crampton) and one senior (Ban)
► Ban (California Amateur Championship) and Morikawa (Trans-Mississippi Championship) both won amateur events and made their U.S. Amateur debuts in the summer of 2013
► Cal players will be paired in threesomes along with players from host Minnesota and Oklahoma for the first two rounds on Sunday with scheduled tee times slated for 9 am CT/7 am PT for the first round and 1:45 pm CT/11:45 am PT for the second round
► Fans can follow the Gopher Invitational online at CalBears.com, and GopherInvitational.com, as well as on the Cal men's golf Facebook (calmensgolf), Instagram (calmensgolf) and Twitter (@calmensgolf) social media pages
