MURRELLS INLET, S.C. – California (288-286-276 – 850, -14) is headed back to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2016 after the Golden Bears came up huge in the third and final round of the NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional at TPC Myrtle Beach on Wednesday. Cal finished fourth overall after shooting a final round of 12-under par that was the second-best of the day behind only winner Illinois (279-288-272 – 839, -25).

"It was a special day for the team," Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf Walter Chun said. "I'm proud of them for their outstanding performance. They stayed patient all tournament long, and it paid off. These guys have worked hard all season long, and they deserve the opportunity to compete for a national championship."

The first four Cal golfers on the leaderboard were all in the top 15 led by a ninth-place showing from KK Limbhasut (69-71-70 – 210, -6) that was the third top-10 NCAA Regional effort of his career. Sebastian Crampton (73-69-70 – 212, -4) finished 11th while Collin Morikawa (74-73-67 – 214, -2) and Kaiwen Liu (72-73-69 – 214, -2) were among a group of six players that tied for 14th. James Song (74-75-75 – 224, +8) was also in the Bears' lineup and finished 58th.

Ohio State (284-281-279 – 844, -20), Wake Forest (286-281-282 – 849, -15) and UNLV (288-284-284 – 856, -8) were the other three teams to advance out of the NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional. In addition to winning the team title, Illinois had the individual medalist in Michael Feagles (68-68-65 – 201, -15) while Oregon's Edwin Yi (69-67-66 – 202, -14) was second overall and earned a trip to the NCAA Championships as the top individual not from one of the five teams to advance.

Cal will wrap up its 2018-19 season May 24-29 at the NCAA Championships hosted by Arkansas at The Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Ark.
 
More …

• Cal tied for 10th the last time the Golden Bears played at the NCAA Championships in 2016 at the Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore.
• Morikawa (T10th), Limbhasut (T17th) and Crampton (77th) were all in the Cal lineup at the 2016 NCAA Championships with Morikawa a freshman, and Limbhasut and Crampton sophomores
• Cal will be playing at the NCAA Championships for the 14th time in school history with one title on its resume in 2004, as well as tied for third-place showings in 2012 and 2013, and a sixth-place finish in 1995
• Cal started Wednesday's third and final round in fifth place three strokes ahead of Oregon and Texas Tech for the final advancing spot but the Bears quickly gave themselves some additional breathing room when Cal's four scoring players shot a blistering combined 10-under par on their first nine holes on the course's back nine
• Morikawa had Cal's best round of the day on Wednesday with a five-under par 67 that included six birdies and one bogey with Morikawa making birdie on each of the course's par-fives (14, 18, 2, 6), as well as the par-four 11th on his second hole and the par-four ninth to close out his round while his single bogey came on the par-three fifth
• Liu recorded three of his five birdies on par-fives (14, 2, 6) as well as one par-three (17) and one par-four (8), while his bogeys came on the par-five 18th and par-three fifth
• Limbhasut had four birdies and two bogeys during his round of two-under par 70 with the birdies coming on both a pair of par-fives (18, 6) and par-fours (15, 16) while his bogeys were on the par-five second and par-four ninth
• All four of Crampton's birdies came on his first nine on the par-four 10th and 12th, the par-three 17th and the par-five 18th, while his two bogeys were on the par-four 15th and par-five sixth
• Song's round was highlighted by Cal's lone eagle of the day on the par-five sixth while he also had a birdie on the par-three 17th, while he started his round with a double bogey on the par-four 10th and also had bogeys on the par-five 14th, and par-four 16th, fourth and eighth
• Morikawa extended his string of top-20 finishes to 24 while his runs of top-seven and top-10 showings came to ends at seven and 16, respectively
• The three seniors in Cal's lineup for the NCAA Myrtle Beach Regional (Morikawa, Crampton, Limbhasut) have combined career totals of 10 victories, 144 events and 446 rounds
• Chun will be taking Cal to the NCAA Championships for the first time in his current role at the helm of the program after seven previous appearances as a player (2000), administrative assistant (2004) and associate head coach (2010, '11, '12, '13, '14, '16)

FINAL NCAA MYRTLE BEACH REGIONAL LEADERBOARDS
(After 3 Of 3 Days, 3 Of 3 Rounds, 54 Of 54 Holes)
TPC Myrtle Beach (Par 72, 6950 Yards)
 
TEAM
1. Illinois (279-288-272 – 839, -25); 2. Ohio State (284-281-279 – 844, -20); 3. Wake Forest (286-281-282 – 849, -15); 4. California (288-286-276 – 850, -14); 5. UNLV (288-284-284 – 856, -8); 6. Florida State (286-292-279 – 857, -7); 7. Oregon (289-288-286 – 863, -1); 8. Northwestern (296-284-284 – 864, E); 9. Texas Tech (289-288-288 – 865, +1); 10. VCU (301-291-287 – 879, +15); 11. Oregon State (296-294-292 – 882, +18); 12. Cal State Fullerton (292-298-297 – 887, +23); 13. Middle Tennessee State (305-293-294 – 892, +28); 14. Robert Morris (305-303-300 – 908, +44)
 
PLAYER – INDIVIDUAL MEDALIST
1. Michael Feagles – Illinois (68-68-65 – 201, -15)
 
PLAYER – CALIFORNIA INDIVIDUALS
9. KK Limbhasut (69-71-70 – 210, -6); 11. Sebastian Crampton (73-69-70 – 212, -4); T14. Collin Morikawa (74-73-67 – 214, -2); T14. Kaiwen Liu (72-73-69 – 214, -2); 58. James Song (74-75-75 – 224, +8)
 
What They Are Saying …
 
Sebastian Crampton

• "Making it back to the NCAA Championships is a huge accomplishment, especially after last year's turnout. I'm sure I can speak for all of the seniors that a trip to the NCAA's and a chance at winning it all is how we would like to end our time at Cal. We're all looking forward to the chance to compete at nationals once again."

KK Limbhasut

• "We played very well today on the day that matters the most in our season. We achieved our first goal, which is to make it to nationals and are one step closer to our end goal. I am very proud of our team today and we are moving on."

Collin Morikawa

• "It was awesome for the team to have a great final round and punch our ticket to nationals. All year we've put ourselves in a great position to win and didn't come through, but today we knew what we had to do for our season not to end and everyone put it all out there. Overall, we didn't have our best stuff, but it was enough to get us through and that's what matters. It's exciting to get back and be able to compete with the best in the country."