ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, Calif. – Cal (347-356 – 703, -7) is in sixth place halfway thru the Pac-12 Championships after the first 36 holes of the event were played Monday at the par-71, 7130-yard Rolling Hills Country Club. Collin Morikawa (67-71 – 138, -4) and Ben Doyle (69-69 – 138, -4) lead the Golden Bears and are among six players tied for eighth.

Host USC (347-340 – 687, -23) leads the event while Stanford (346-346 – 692, -18), Colorado (348-351 – 699, -11), Arizona (351-350 – 701, -9) and Arizona State (353-349 – 702, -8) are also in front of Cal.

"We had a good start to the tournament in the morning, but we made too many mistakes this afternoon," Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf Walter Chun said. "Our backs are against the wall, but this is a resilient group of young men and I believe we'll bounce back."

Cal played its top golf early Monday with a blistering 10-under par team score on its opening nine holes and despite being two-over on its second nine remained close to the leaders after Monday's first 18 holes in a tie for second place with USC one shot behind Stanford. But a one-over par second round that was bettered by eight teams in the field dropped Cal four spots into sixth.

Morikawa was tied for second after his four-under par opening round that included birdies on the par-five 10th and par-four 14th, fourth and seventh holes. He would pick up two more birdies in the second round on the par-five 15th and par-four fifth but gave those two shots back with two bogeys over his final four holes on the par-four sixth and eighth.

"I started the day off very strong giving myself many opportunities and converting some to have a good first round," Morikawa said. "The second round I hit a lot of great putts but I was reading them wrong and just didn't make anything."

Doyle was in the Cal lineup for the first time since the Wyoming Desert Classic in February and built upon the career-best final round four-under par 66 he shot as an individual in the Bears' most recent event at the Western Intercollegiate with back-to-back two-under par rounds Monday. He had three birdies on the par-five 10th and par-four fourth and seventh holes before finishing his opening round with a bogey on the par-three ninth. He had four birdies (11, 15, 17, 7) and two bogeys (14, 4) in his second round.

"It feels good to see my game improving throughout the year," Doyle said. "I played really steady today, didn't make any stupid mistakes and limited the amount of bogeys I had. I gave myself a lot of chances at birdie and though I missed some opportunities I dropped a few good putts."

Finigan Tilly (70-71 – 141, -1) is in a tie for 26th three shots behind Morikawa and Doyle after eight birdies and seven bogeys during his 36 holes.

Sebastian Crampton (71-73 – 144, +2) and KK Limbhasut (70-74 – 144, +2) are three shots back of Tilly in a tie for 41st. Crampton's day included seven birdies, six bogeys and one triple bogey on the par-four 12th hole during his second round. Limbhasut birdied three of his first seven holes and finished the day with five birdies and an eagle but also had five bogeys and two double bogeys.

Kaiwen Liu (73-72 – 145, +3) is tied for 48th one shot behind Crampton and Limbhasut after a day that included three birdies and six bogeys.

Cal will start third-round action at the Pac-12 Championships on Tuesday at 9 am PT. The Bears will begin from the first hole and play in six threesomes with Arizona and Arizona State.

"Our team is far back but there's two more rounds and I believe in these guys that we can all do it," Morikawa said. "We need to adjust the way we played some holes today and work on putting, and we'll be right back in it."

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIPS (HOSTED BY PAC-12/USC)
ROLLING HILLS ESTATES, CA
ROLLING HILLS COUNTRY CLUB (PAR 71, 7130 YARDS)
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD (after 1 of 3 days/2 of 4 rounds/36 of 72 holes)

1. USC (347-340 – 687, -23)
2. Stanford (346-346 – 692, -18)
3. Colorado (348-351 – 699, -11)
4. Arizona (351-350 – 701, -9)
5. Arizona State (353-349 – 702, -8)
6. Cal (347-356 – 703, -7)
7. UCLA (361-349 – 710, E)
8. Oregon (358-353 – 711, +1)
T9. Oregon State (352-360 – 712, +2)
T9. Washington (356-356 – 712, +2)
11. Washington State (357-358 – 715, +5)
12. Utah (371-345 – 716, +6)

PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CO-INDIVIDUAL LEADERS (after 1 of 3 days/2 of 4 rounds/36 of 72 holes)

T1. Jeffrey Swegle – Stanford (67-65 – 132, -10)
T1. Justin Suh – USC (68-64 – 132, -10)

PLAYER LEADERBOARD – CAL INDIVIDUALS (after 1 of 3 days/2 of 4 rounds/36 of 72 holes)

T8. Collin Morikawa (67-71 – 138, -4)
T8. Ben Doyle (69-69 – 138, -4)
T26. Finigan Tilly (70-71 – 141, -1)
T41. Sebastian Crampton (71-73 – 144, +2)
T41. KK Limbhasut (70-74 – 144, +2)
T48. Kaiwen Liu (73-72 – 145, +3)