
11/5/2018 5:07 PM | Women's Golf
Cal Tied For First After First 18 Holes At Pac-12 Preview
KAILUA KONA, Hawaii – Cindy Oh tied the school record for strokes under par while California women's golf opened the Pac-12 Preview with their best round of the fall on Monday afternoon at Nanea Golf Club. The team sits in a tie for first place after the first 18 holes.
The Bears shot 3-under 289 in the first round and sit atop the leaderboard with Oregon and USC. The Bears are currently in front of five teams ranked in the top 15 of the most recent Golfstat rankings. Cal has shot 289 or under on four occasions this fall, but none of them came on a par-73 course as it did on Monday.
Cindy Oh led the charge for the Bears, as she has all fall by tying the school record of 6-under for a round. Oh Shot 67 as she drained six birdies and did not record a bogey. She sits in first place with a two-shot lead over the rest of the field after the first 18 holes. Oh tied the school's low mark of -6, which has happened twice before. Joanna Lee set the mark exactly eight years ago as she opened the three-day Pac-10/SEC Challenge with a 6-under 65 on November 5, 2010. Alice Jeong tied that mark with a 6-under 64 at the Schooner Classic in 2014.
Oh made back-to-back birdies on three occasions. After starting on the 15th hole, Oh immediately got to work sinking birdies on 15 and 16. She then added consecutive birdies on holes three and four before following that with birdies on holes seven and eight.
"Cindy got off to a solid start with two birdies early," head coach Nancy McDaniel said. "She played steady golf the entire time. Cindy found her zone today, that's her power right now. In golf lore, playing a round without bogeys is a big deal and Cindy was able to accomplish that today."
Not to be outdone, freshman Katherine Zhu shot 3-under 70 to sit in a tie for fifth. Zhu did all of her damage on the course's front nine as she recorded four birdies and a solitary bogey. Zhu's 3-under score was the best of her short career at Cal. Zhu and Oh were two of only four people who managed either one or zero bogeys on the day.
"Cindy and Katherine were a really solid 1-2 punch," McDaniel said. "This is a course with tricky greens due to the topographical elements that you have to deal with. I was encouraged with how we were reading the greens today. We minimized the three putts and if we continue to do that we will be solid in this talented field."
Elena Arias and Marianne Li are tied for 37th as they both shot 3-over 76. Arias knocked in three birdies, including back-to-back shots on the second and third holes to help the team. Li also collected three birdies, shooting three-under on the course's four par-5 holes. She was tied for the best score on par-5 holes in the first round.
Maria Herraez Galvez rounded out the Bears' lineup as she shot 4-over 77 and tied for 43rd. Herraez Galvez notched two birdies, including one on the fifth hole. The team shot 3-under on the par-5, 466 yard fifth hole.
The Bears will return to the course tomorrow for the second round. Cal will tee off in a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. PT on Tuesday. Cal will tee off of holes one through five and be in foursomes with Oregon, USC and Colorado.
TEAM
t1. California (289; -3)
INDIVIDUAL
1. Cindy Oh (67; -6)
t5. Katherine Zhu (70; -3)
t37. Marianne Li (76; +3)
t37. Elena Arias (76; +3)
t43. Maria Herraez Galvez (77; +4)
The Bears shot 3-under 289 in the first round and sit atop the leaderboard with Oregon and USC. The Bears are currently in front of five teams ranked in the top 15 of the most recent Golfstat rankings. Cal has shot 289 or under on four occasions this fall, but none of them came on a par-73 course as it did on Monday.
Cindy Oh led the charge for the Bears, as she has all fall by tying the school record of 6-under for a round. Oh Shot 67 as she drained six birdies and did not record a bogey. She sits in first place with a two-shot lead over the rest of the field after the first 18 holes. Oh tied the school's low mark of -6, which has happened twice before. Joanna Lee set the mark exactly eight years ago as she opened the three-day Pac-10/SEC Challenge with a 6-under 65 on November 5, 2010. Alice Jeong tied that mark with a 6-under 64 at the Schooner Classic in 2014.
Oh made back-to-back birdies on three occasions. After starting on the 15th hole, Oh immediately got to work sinking birdies on 15 and 16. She then added consecutive birdies on holes three and four before following that with birdies on holes seven and eight.
"Cindy got off to a solid start with two birdies early," head coach Nancy McDaniel said. "She played steady golf the entire time. Cindy found her zone today, that's her power right now. In golf lore, playing a round without bogeys is a big deal and Cindy was able to accomplish that today."
Not to be outdone, freshman Katherine Zhu shot 3-under 70 to sit in a tie for fifth. Zhu did all of her damage on the course's front nine as she recorded four birdies and a solitary bogey. Zhu's 3-under score was the best of her short career at Cal. Zhu and Oh were two of only four people who managed either one or zero bogeys on the day.
"Cindy and Katherine were a really solid 1-2 punch," McDaniel said. "This is a course with tricky greens due to the topographical elements that you have to deal with. I was encouraged with how we were reading the greens today. We minimized the three putts and if we continue to do that we will be solid in this talented field."
Elena Arias and Marianne Li are tied for 37th as they both shot 3-over 76. Arias knocked in three birdies, including back-to-back shots on the second and third holes to help the team. Li also collected three birdies, shooting three-under on the course's four par-5 holes. She was tied for the best score on par-5 holes in the first round.
Maria Herraez Galvez rounded out the Bears' lineup as she shot 4-over 77 and tied for 43rd. Herraez Galvez notched two birdies, including one on the fifth hole. The team shot 3-under on the par-5, 466 yard fifth hole.
The Bears will return to the course tomorrow for the second round. Cal will tee off in a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. PT on Tuesday. Cal will tee off of holes one through five and be in foursomes with Oregon, USC and Colorado.
TEAM
t1. California (289; -3)
INDIVIDUAL
1. Cindy Oh (67; -6)
t5. Katherine Zhu (70; -3)
t37. Marianne Li (76; +3)
t37. Elena Arias (76; +3)
t43. Maria Herraez Galvez (77; +4)
Players Mentioned
Thursday, May 17
Monday, February 26
Thursday, November 10
Wednesday, June 22





















