Off The Tee

• Cal has three team wins in 2017-18 at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational, Tavistock Collegiate Invitational and Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, while also finishing second in each of its last two events (Querencia Cabo Collegiate, The Goodwin)
• National Player of the Year candidate Collin Morikawa moved into the No. 1 spot in both the Golfstat and Golfweek/Sagarin national rankings for the first time in his career earlier this week
• Collin Morikawa was named the Pac-12's Player of the Month for March of 2018, winning the honor for the second time in his career
• Cal is ranked as high as No. 5 nationally according to Golfweek/Sagarin (4/5/18), while the Golden Bears check in at No. 9 according to Golfstat (4/4/18) and are No. 10 on the latest Bushnell Golfweek Coaches Poll (3/30/18)
• Cal has claimed five individual medalist honors in 2017-18 with Collin Morikawa (Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, Querencia Cabo Collegiate) and KK Limbhasut (Alister MacKenzie Invitational, Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational) winning twice while Sebastian Crampton shared the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate with three others including Morikawa
• Sebastian Crampton paced Cal for the first time in 2017-18 with a third-place finish at the Golden Bears' most recent event at The Goodwin
• Jamie Cheatham had the first hole-in-one of his entire career in the third and final round at his most recent event at The Goodwin using a six-iron to ace the 175-yard par-three 17th hole

Western Intercollegiate Notes

Cal Lineup

1. Sebastian Crampton
2. Collin Morikawa
3. Finigan Tilly
4. Jamie Cheatham
5. KK Limbhasut
6. Kaiwen Liu
Ind. Ben Doyle

Event Information

Cal concludes its 2017-18 regular season at the Western Intercollegiate hosted by San Jose State this Saturday-Sunday, April 7-8. The two-day 54-hole tournament will be played at the par-70, 6,615-yard Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, Calif. Teams are scheduled to play 36 holes on Saturday followed by the final 18 holes Sunday with a shotgun start both days at 8:30 am PT. Cal is slated to play with San Diego State on Saturday starting from the sixth and seventh holes. Sunday's third-round pairings and starting holes will be determined by Saturday's results.

Event Coverage

Live Scoring: calbea.rs/westernboard
Twitter: CalMensGolf
Instagram: CalMensGolf
Facebook: CalMensGolf
Web: CalBears.com
Hashtags: #CalMensGolf

Weather Forecast*

Saturday: AM Showers, 62/48, 80% precip, W 11 mph, 80%
Sunday: Sunny, 67/47, 10% precip, NNW 11 mph, 59%
*According to weather.com

Cal's History At Western Intercollegiate

Cal has won the Western Intercollegiate twice in 1950 and 2013 with the event scheduled to be played for the 72nd time in 2018. Shotaro Ban had Cal's highest individual finish ever in the event with a second-place showing in 2015. Five of the six golfers in Cal's 2018 lineup and individual Ben Doyle have played previously at the Western Intercollegiate. Sebastian Crampton, KK Limbhasut, Collin Morikawa and Doyle have each played the event twice, while Jamie Cheatham and Finigan Tilly have played it once. Morikawa and Cheatham have the top showings by a player in the 2018 Cal lineup at the event with both tying for 16th Cheatham in 2016 and Morikawa in 2017. Cal finished 13th at the 2017 event with the Golden Bears' top two finishers Tilly (T30th) and Morikawa (T44th) the lone two returnees to Cal's 2018 lineup, while Doyle playing as an individual after being in Cal's lineup in 2017. William Aldred made history at the 2017 Western Intercollegiate when he became the first player in Cal history to record holes-in-one in back-to-back rounds with a nine-iron on the par-three, 141-yard 15th hole in the second round Saturday and a seven-iron on the par-three, 177-yard eighth hole Sunday.

Cal Top Ranked Team In Western Intercollegiate Field

Cal is the top-ranked team in the 15-team field at the Western Intercollegiate in each of the three major national rankings (Golfstat, Golfweek/Sagarin, Bushnell/Golfweek/Coaches) and one of seven teams ranked in the top 25 of at least one poll. The complete field and their latest rankings listed in order of their Golfstat ranking from top to bottom are below.

(Golfstat, Golfweek/Sagarin, *Bushnell/Golfweek/Coaches)

Cal (9, 5, 10), Texas (14, 17, 15), Stanford (18, 13, 18), North Carolina (20, 20, 24), USC (21, 21, 16), Oregon (25, 35, --), Pepperdine (32, 25, --), Arizona (33, 34, --), Colorado State (42, 41, --), San Diego State (50, 54, --), Washington (66, 72, --), UTEP (80, 79, --), San Jose State (103, 108, --), UC Irvine (128, 131, --), Hawai'i (240, 248, --)
*Top 25 only
Latest rankings: Golfstat (4/4/18); Golfweek/Sagarin (4/5/18), Bushnell/Golfweek/Coaches (3/30/18)

Team Notes

Trio Of Cal Victories In 2017-18

Cal has won three events in 2017-18 including a 20-stroke victory in its most recent victory in February at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate that was its largest margin of victory since a 22-stroke victory at the 2013 Alister MacKenzie Invitational. Cal also won twice in the fall of 2017 in back-to-back fashion at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational and against one of college golf's top fields at the prestigious Tavistock Collegiate Invitational. The three victories are Cal's first since winning the Alister MacKenzie Invitational in the fall of 2015 and the most in a season since the 2014-15 squad won four times. The back-to-back wins were the first for Cal since capturing the John A. Burns Intercollegiate and National Invitational Tournament in consecutive events in the spring of 2015. Cal has also been second at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate and The Goodwin in its last two events, third at the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational, seventh at the Arizona Intercollegiate, ninth at the Carpet Capital Collegiate and tied for ninth at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational in in 2017-18.

Limbhasut, Morikawa And Crampton Individual Winners

KK Limbhasut, Collin Morikawa and Sebastian Crampton have been individual medalists in 2017-18. Limbhasut won both the Alister MacKenzie and Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational during the 2017 fall slate, while Morikawa set 54-hole school and course records (197, -16) to win the Querencia Cabo Collegiate and along with Crampton was among four players to share individual medalist honors at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.

Great Numbers In Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate Win

Cal put up some tremendous numbers in its most recent win at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate including …
 
• Second-best 54-hole under-par team score (-47) in school history behind only a -48 at 2010 Alister MacKenzie Invitational
• Largest margin of victory since 2013
• First career victory for Sebastian Crampton and second for Collin Morikawa as part of four players to share win
• Tied for career-best 54-hole under-par totals for both Crampton and Morikawa (-14) with Morikawa bettering it in his next event at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate (school record -16)
• Top career finish and 54-hole score for Jamie Cheatham (T5, -9)

Postseason On The Horizon

After concluding its 2017-18 regular-season schedule at the Western Intercollegiate, the Golden Bears begin the postseason with the Pac-12 Championships (Apr. 23-25) at Rolling Hills Estates Country Club in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif. The selections of the 81 teams advancing to NCAA Regionals will be announced live on Golf Channel on May 2 (2:30 pm PT) with six NCAA Regionals slated to take place across the country May 14-16. The top five teams and top individual not from those teams will advance to the 30-team NCAA Championships held May 25-30 at the Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla.

Trio Making Return Felt

Jamie Cheatham, Sebastian Crampton and KK Limbhasut have returned to the active roster in 2017-18 after redshirting the 2016-17 season to work on their golf games and focus on their academic schedule. All three have made a significant impact with national rankings that are second thru fourth on the team behind Morikawa (Golfstat – No. 76 Limbhasut, No. 89 Crampton, No. 134 Cheatham; Golfweek/Sagarin – No. 59 Limbhasut, No. 64 Crampton, No. 103 Cheatham). Limbhasut and Crampton have played in each of Cal's first nine events of the 2017-18 season, while Cheatham has participated in six tournaments including each of the first four in the spring. Limbhasut has two wins and six top-20 finishes. Crampton's season has been highlighted by his first career victory at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate when he was among four players including teammate Collin Morikawa, while he was also tied for second at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational and in sole possession of third among four top-20 finishes. Cheatham had the best finish of his career at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate when he tied for fifth while he also tied for 12th at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate and had his first career hole-in-one in his most event at The Goodwin.

Lineup Notes
 
1 – Sebastian Crampton
6-0, 165, RJr., 2L
Pacific Grove, CA (Stevenson HS)
 
First Career Win

Crampton picked up his first career victory when he was one of four players including teammate Collin Morikawa to share individual medalist honors at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.

Career-Best 14-Under Par Twice

Crampton has twice shot a career-best-tying 14-under par 54-holes in 2017-18 in his share of the win at the Wyoming Intercollegiate Desert Intercollegiate and a tied for second-place finish at Alister MacKenzie Invitational.

Third Place In Most Recent Event At The Goodwin

Crampton led Cal for the first time in 2017-18 by finishing third at the team's most recent event at The Goodwin.

2 – Collin Morikawa
5-9, 170, Jr., 2L
La Canada Flintridge (La Canada HS)
 
National Player Of The Year Candidate

Morikawa is a candidate for National Player of the Year honors and is on the watch list for some of the nation's top honors including the Haskins Award and The Ben Hogan Award honoring the top player in collegiate and amateur golf.

No. 1

Morikawa moved into the No. 1 spot in both the Golfstat (4/4/18) and Golfweek/Sagarin (4/5/18) rankings for the first time in his collegiate career.

Pac-12 Men's Golfer of the Month

Morikawa earned Pac-12 Men's Golfer of the Month honors for the second time in his career in March of 2018 with a victory at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate and a tied for fifth-place finish at The Goodwin with Cal finishing second as a team in both events. In between his two collegiate events, Morikawa made the cut while playing as an amateur at the PGA TOUR's Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard.

Stroke Average

Morikawa has Cal's lowest stroke average at 68.92, which is third nationally only 0.05 strokes per round behind national leader Justin Suh of USC and 1.02 strokes per round better than his own school record of 69.94 he set in 2016-17.

2017-18 Victories

Morikawa has recorded his second and third career collegiate victories in 2017-18 at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate and Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate. Morikawa set 54-hole school and course records by going 16-under par (197) to win by three strokes at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate and was among four players including teammate Sebastian Crampton to share individual medalist honors at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate. Morikawa has five top-five and six top-10 showings in 2017-18 and has been in the top 20 in each of the eight events he has played in.

Hot Streak

Morikawa had a nine-round stretch spanning from the third round of the Arizona Intercollegiate though the second round of The Goodwin he played in an astonishing 42-under par with 45 birdies and an eagle against three bogeys and one double bogey. He had a 66.67 stroke average during the period.

Cal Career

Morikawa has compiled three wins while making a playoff appearance in another among 12 top five, 21 top 10 and 30 top-20 finishes in his 33 collegiate events while he has a 70.24 career stroke average. Morikawa earned his first career victory at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in March of 2017 after making his first playoff in his previous event at the Southern Highlands Collegiate earlier in the month prior to his two wins in 2017-18. He finished the 2016-17 campaign ranked as high as the nation's No. 4 collegiate golfer according to Golfstat and was a Division I PING First-Team All-American, as well as a semifinalist for both the Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award and The Ben Hogan Award among a host of honors. As a collegiate rookie in 2015-16, Morikawa became Cal's first player to earn a spot on the GCAA's Freshman All-American team and was also a third-team GCAA All-American and the Pac-12's Freshman of the Year among many honors.

2018 Palmer Cup

Morikawa along with Cal teammate KK Limbhasut have been selected to participate at the 2018 Palmer Cup.

3 – Finigan Tilly
5-10, 155, So., 1L
San Carlos, CA (Carlmont HS)
 
Best Career Outing

Tilly had both the best finish and best 54-hole score of his collegiate career in his most recent event when he was tied for 15th at The Goodwin (70-72-69 – 211, -2). His two-under par round of 69 in the third and final round was the second-best of his career.

Return To Lineup

Tilly was in the Cal lineup at The Goodwin for the first time since the Golden Bears' season-opener last September at the Carpet Capital Collegiate. He has also played as an individual three times – once last fall at the Alister MacKenzie invitational and twice this spring at the Arizona Medalist Intercollegiate and Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate.

4 – Jamie Cheatham
6-2, 180, RSo., 1L
Rancho Santa Fe, CA (Torrey Pines HS)
 
Strong Spring

Cheatham has played in all four events in the spring of 2018 after appearing in only two of the five in the fall of 2017. Cheatham had the top finish of his career when he tied for fifth at the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate and followed that up with a tied for 12th place showing at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate.

Hole-In-One

Cheatham recorded his first ever hole-in-one in the third and final round of his most recent event at The Goodwin, acing the par-three, 171-yard 17th hole with a six-iron. The hole-in-one is also the only hole-in-one by a Cal player in 2017-18 and follows the two holes-in-one by William Aldred in 2016-17 in back-to-back rounds in second and third-round action at the Western Intercollegiate.

5 – KK Limbhasut
6-0, 200, Jr., 2L
Loma Linda, CA (Redlands HS)
 
Third And Fourth Career Wins

Limbhasut won the third and fourth events of his collegiate career during the fall of 2017 at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational and Ka'anapali Collegiate Classic Invitational. The victory at the MacKenzie helped Limbhasut earn Pac-12 Men's Golfer of the Month honors for October of 2017 for the first time in his collegiate career. He posted both the lowest 54-hole total of his career with a 15-under par 198 and top two rounds of his career in the victory with a seven-under par opening-round 64 followed by a six-under par 65.

6 – Kaiwen Liu
5-10, 170, Fr., HS
San Diego, CA (Torrey Pines HS)
 
Back In The Lineup

After being in the lineup for each of the team's five events in the fall of 2017, Liu has been in the lineup only once in the spring of 2018 at the Querencia Cabo Collegiate. Liu completely missed the first two matches of the 2018 spring schedule but did play as an individual in Cal's most recent event at The Goodwin.

Individual Notes
 
Ind – Ben Doyle, 6-0, 150, RJr., 2L
La Jolla, CA (La Jolla HS)
 
Back In Action

Doyle is scheduled to play in an event at the Western Intercollegiate for the first time since the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate (February 16-18). After not playing in the team's first two events of the season, he had been in the lineup for five consecutive events before missing each of the last two.

Coaches Notes
 
Walter Chun, Second Season
Alex And Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf
 
Second Season

Walter Chun is in his second season as Cal's Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf in 2017-18 and his 21st season with the Cal men's golf program previously serving as associate head coach (2009-16), assistant coach (2004-09) and administrative assistant (2002-04) after his playing career for the Golden Bears (1997-2002).

Eric Mina, Second Season
Assistant Coach

Eric Mina is in his second season as Cal's assistant head coach in 2017-18. Mina was also a player at Cal (2006-11) before spending four years as a professional golfer (2011-14). He is in his sixth season overall associated with the program.

Other Notes
 
Four Others Have Played As Individuals

William Aldred, Ryan Helgans, Clayton Madey and Robin Wang each played as individuals at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational hosted by Cal, while Madey also played as an individual at the Ka'anapali Classic Collegiate Invitational and Arizona Medalist Intercollegiate. Joseph Chun has yet to see action.