FAIRFAX, Calif. – Cal (274-272 – 546, -22) is in third place following the first 36 holes of action Monday at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational with the Golden Bears trailing leader Pepperdine (273-266 – 539, -29) by seven strokes and two behind second-place Saint Mary's (269-275 – 544, -24).

Kaiwen Liu (67-69 – 136, -6) is the top Cal player on the individual leaderboard in a tie for 14th place and leads four Cal players in the top 30. Kento Yamawaki (71-66 – 137, -5), Finigan Tilly (67-71 – 138, -4) and Jamie Cheatham (69-70 – 139, -3) each follow Liu in intervals of one stroke each and are tied for 18th, 21st and 28th, respectively. James Song (76-67 – 143, +1) is also in the Cal lineup and is four strokes behind Cheatham in a tie for 51st.

"I'd say we ham and egged it pretty well, meaning that it was a team effort," Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf Walter Chun said. "We didn't have our best out there, but everyone played hard and their efforts have kept us in it after 36 holes.

San Jose State's Sean Yu (61-66 – 127, -15) has a three-stroke lead over Pepperdine's Sahith Theegala (66-64 – 130, -12) on the individual leaderboard.

Cal also has a "B" team in the event that was led Monday by Kyle Maspat (68-72 – 140, E) in a tie for 32nd and followed by Connor Golembeski (73-69 – 142, E) and Aaron Chen (72-70 – 142, E) in a tie for 43rd, Cooper Hunt (73-71 – 144, +2) in a tie for 60th and Ryan Helgans (73-76 – 149, +7) in a tie for 76th.

Third and final round tee times begin Tuesday at 8 am on the first hole and 8:10 am on the 10th. Cal will play in five foursomes with Pepperdine, Saint Mary's and fourth-place Boise State beginning at 8:55 am from the first tee. The Bears "B" squad will go out with Loyola Marymount, Fresno State and Hawai'i starting on the 10th hole at 8:10 am.

"Hopefully, we'll catch a hot streak tomorrow from the start and keep it going throughout the final round," Chun said. "All five guys are capable of shooting a low round, and we'll need some guys to do that if we're going to catch Pepperdine."