LAHAINA, HI – California (266-275-264 – 805, -47) finished off its fall schedule by closing out an 11-stroke victory Sunday at the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational hosted by Hawai'i.
Sebastian Crampton (66-67-63 – 196, -17) won individual medalist honors for the second time in his career and on first occasion outright. His 17-under par total tied the 54-hole school record set earlier this year by
Collin Morikawa at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational while his eight-under par round Sunday tied his career-low.
Morikawa (66-70-63 – 199, -14) posted his fourth consecutive top-five finish by taking third at the par-71, 6700-yard Royal Ka'anapali Course at the Ka'anapali Golf Club.
"I'm so proud of this team," Chun said. "It's been an up-and-down fall season but to finish it with a win validates all their hard work. We started off slow today, and North Florida had made birdies and passed us. But the guys stayed patient and just went lights out on the back nine. To have one player shoot 63 in a final round is huge, but to have both Sebastian and Collin do it is a testament to their character and just how much they wanted it for the team."
Crampton put together two tremendous stretches of golf during his final round, going birdie-birdie-eagle on the par-four fifth, par-five sixth and par-four seventh on his front nine before a birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle run on the par-four 11-14 holes on the back. Crampton was nine-under par for the round before a bogey on the par-four 18th.
"I played solid golf all week," Crampton said. "I did a great job of staying patient and not forcing the birdies to come during my final round. The final round was extremely important for us because we have not played our best in final rounds this fall. Obviously we found something today, and we're going to take a lot of confidence into the spring and beyond."
"Finishing the fall with a win feels amazing," Morikawa said. "We put ourselves in position all week long and finally finished it off with a great final round. The team played amazing and Seb came through with a solid 63. Overall, I think we learned a lot from this fall and we have some momentum to take into the spring season."
Morikawa matched Crampton's nine birdies and one bogey Sunday. He birdied the par-five first and ninth holes to bookend his front nine and had birdies on the par-four fifth and seventh in between. After starting his back nine with the lone bogey of his round on the par-four 10th, he would run off a string of five birdies in six holes on 11-13 and 15-16. All were par-fours other than the par-three 15th.
"I had a slow start but made a few birdies at the end of my front nine to get things going and after that found a groove," Morikawa said. "It was a really solid day with my approach shots and I was fortunate to roll some putts in."
Morikawa's eight-under par 63 on Sunday was the lowest round of his illustrious collegiate career after he had shot 64 on five previous occasions. Morikawa's top-five finish was also the 17th of his career in 40 stroke-play starts. He lowered his career stroke average to 69.80 and his 2018-19 number to 67.50, which is more than a stroke better than the NCAA single-season record of 68.68 that he established in 2017-18.
KK Limbhasut (66-68-71 – 205, -8) was the next Cal player on the leaderboard with a season-best tied for 11th place finish. Limbhasut had both a pair of birdies (9, 16) and a pair of bogeys (4, 15) on Sunday, all on par-four holes other than the par-five ninth.
James Song (68-72-67 – 207, -6) equaled the best round of his career with a four-under par 67 on Sunday and established his top career finish with a tie for 18th. Song had all five of his birdies (10, 11, 13, 14, 16) and his only bogey (12) over the first seven holes of his back nine.
Jamie Cheatham (70-70-72 – 212, -1) was also in the Cal lineup for the first time since last April due to injury and finished tied for 47th. He had two birdies (5, 10) and three bogeys (4, 13, 14) on Sunday, all on par-fours.
Joseph Chun (68-73-78 – 219, +6) played as an individual and finished 85th. Chun's round Sunday included one birdie (2,) three bogeys (1, 3, 11), one double bogey (5) and one triple bogey (8).
Cal will resume its season February 11-12 in its spring-opener at the Farms Intercollegiate hosted by San Diego at The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
FINAL TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 3 of 3 days/3 of 3 rounds/54 of 54 holes)
1. California (266-275-264 – 805, -47)
2. North Florida (278-266-272 – 816, -36)
3. Oklahoma (275-278-264 – 817, -35)
T4. UCLA (272-284-269 – 825, -27)
T4. Clemson (262-292-271 – 825, -27)
6. Georgia (268-282-277 – 827, -25)
7. South Carolina (271-279-280 – 830, -22)
T8. Boise State (271-294-270 – 835, -17)
T8. West Virginia (271-280-284 – 835, -17)
10. Kansas (290-275-274 – 839, -13)
11. Wyoming (280-292-279 – 851, -1)
12. Houston (286-289-279 – 854, +2)
T13. Washington (285-292-278 – 855, +3)
T13. Connecticut (281-285-289 – 855, +3)
T13. Gonzaga (282-288-285 – 855, +3)
16. Sacramento State (283-300-282 – 865, +13)
17. Southern Illinois (291-300-281 – 872, +20)
18. Hawai'i (289-291-293 – 873, +21)
19. George Washington (286-300-290 – 876, +24)
20. Air Force (291-304-285 – 880, +28)
FINAL PLAYER LEADERBOARD – INDIVIDUAL LEADER (after 3 of 3 days/3 of 3 rounds/54 of 54 holes)
1.
Sebastian Crampton – California (66-67-63 – 196, -17)
FINAL PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 3 of 3 days/3 of 3 rounds/54 of 54 holes)
1.
Sebastian Crampton (66-67-63 – 196, -17)
3.
Collin Morikawa (66-70-63 – 199, -14)
T11.
KK Limbhasut (66-68-71 – 205, -8)
T18.
James Song (68-72-67 – 207, -6)
T47.
Jamie Cheatham (70-70-72 – 212, -1)
^85.
Joseph Chun (68-73-78 – 219, +6)
^played as individual