SONOMA, Calif. – The California men's golf team pulled away from the field with a third-round, 12-under-par 276 to win the 2022 Alister Mackenzie Invitational by 13 strokes on Tuesday at Sonoma Golf Club.
 
Cal's victory marked the 12th time that the Golden Bears have won or shared the team title in the Alister Mackenzie Invitational's 18-year history. It was the Bears' first win at the Alister Mackenzie Invitational since 2017, and their first overall tournament victory since February 2019 at The Farms Invitational in Rancho Santa Fe, California.
 
The Bears (282-285-276 – 843, -21), who entered Tuesday in second place and one shot behind 36-hole leader Harvard, were hot out of the gates following an hour-and-a-half fog delay, collectively shooting 5-under-par through the first five holes. The quick start helped Cal build a five-stroke advantage that it built upon throughout the round on the way to a season-best and tournament-low 276 on Tuesday.
 
For the third time in as many stroke-play events this fall it was Sampson Zheng (68-72-66 – 206, -10) who paced the Bears in Sonoma. The junior saved his best for last, tying his collegiate-low score of 66 (-6) in the third round to finish in sole possession of second place and help Cal run away with the team title. Far from a one-man show, Cal received further standout efforts from Tony Chen (-5, 67) and Nathan Wang (-3, 69) in the third round. Wang and Chen finished tied for sixth and eighth, respectively.
 
Jeewon Park (74-67-70 – 211, -5) and Simon Kwon (69-73-70 – 212, -4) tied for eighth and 10th while playing as individuals, rounding out a group of five Bears who placed inside the top 10. Fellow individual Costas Panay added a 4-under-par 68 in the third round on the way to a tie for 27th overall.
 
Runner-up team honors went to Minnesota (279-289-288 – 856, -8) while San José State (288-280-290 – 858, -6) took third place. Long Beach State's Ian Gilligan (70-66-65 – 201, -15) won individual medalist honors, besting Zheng by five strokes overall.
 
Tuesday's playing format was changed to a shotgun start due to the 1.5-hour fog delay.
 
TEAM LEADERBOARD

Place	Team	To Par	R1	R2	R3	Total
1	California	-21	282	285	276	843
2	Minnesota	-8	279	289	288	856
3	San José State	-6	288	280	290	858
4	Drexel	-5	285	287	287	859
T5	Harvard	-4	282	284	294	860
T5	Long Beach State	-4	293	287	280	860
T7	Santa Clara	+1	292	291	282	865
T7	Dartmouth	+1	294	291	280	865
9	UC Santa Barbara	+19	295	296	292	883

 
CAL ON INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD

Place	Name	R1	R2	R3	Total
2	Sampson Zheng	68 (-4)	72 (E)	66 (-6)	206 (-10)
T6	Nathan Wang	70 (-2)	71 (-1)	69 (-3)	210 (-6)
T8	Tony Chen	73 (+1)	71 (-1)	67 (-5)	211 (-5)
T8	Jeewon Park (i)	74 (+2)	67 (-5)	70 (-2)	211 (-5)
T10	Simon Kwon (i)	69 (-3)	73 (+1)	70 (-2)	212 (-4)
19	Ethan Chung	71 (-1)	72 (E)	74 (+2)	217 (+1)
T27	Costas Panay (i)	77 (+5)	74 (+2)	68 (-4)	219 (+3)
T27	Daniel Heo (i)	75 (+3)	73 (+1)	71 (-1)	219 (+3)
T41	Aaron Du	76 (+4)	71 (-1)	75 (+3)	222 (+6)

 
ALISTER MACKENZIE INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS – ALL-TIME
2022 – California (Ian Gilligan, Long Beach State)
2019 – Pepperdine (Sahith Theegala, Pepperdine)
2018 – Pepperdine (RJ Manke, Pepperdine)
2017 – California (KK Limbhasut, California)
2016 – Arizona State (Ki Taek Lee, Arizona State/Conner Kumpula, Oregon State)
2015 – California (Cody Blick, San José State)
2014 – California (Max Rottluff, Arizona State)
2013 – California (Joël Stalter, California)
2012 – California (Brandon Hagy, California)
2011 – California, Oregon (Eugene Wong, Oregon)
2010 – California (Alex Kang, San Diego State)
2009 – California (Stephen Hale, California)
2007 – San Diego State (Daryl Fathauer, Louisville)
2006 – California (Michael Wilson, California)
2005 – California (Jon Rosa, Fresno State)
2004 – Oregon State (Bobby Bennett, Purdue/Dillion Dougherty, Northwestern)
2003 – California (Steve Conway, UCLA)
2002 – Fresno State (Nick Watney, Fresno State)
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will take nearly two weeks off from competition before playing in their final fall event, the Isleworth Collegiate, on Oct. 23-25 in Windermere, Florida.
 
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