FAIRFAX – The California men's golf team put itself in prime position to defend its title at the 19th annual Alister MacKenzie Invitational by shooting a decisive 46-under-par 522 (262-260) over 36 holes played on Monday at Meadow Club. Cal will enter the third and final round on Tuesday with a 19-stroke advantage on second-place New Mexico (-27).
 
The Golden Bears have won or shared the team title in 12 of the previous 18 editions of the MacKenzie and appeared driven to make it a 13th title as they shot the two lowest rounds in the field. Sophomore Nathan Wang was at the forefront of the dominance, ending Monday as the clubhouse leader with a 14-under 65-63 effort. The Fremont native bested his collegiate 18-hole low by four strokes with his second-round 63, which included six consecutive birdies on holes 8-13 and nine overall.
 
All five Bears in Cal's "A" lineup – one of its two five-man lineups competing at the MacKenzie – set or tied their collegiate lows, including a second-round 64 by Sampson Zheng, first-round 65s by Ethan Fang and Tony Chen and a second-round 66 from Eric Lee. Fang and Chen shot identical 10-under 65-67s and are tied for fourth individually while Lee sits at 9-under following a 67-66. Zheng's second-round 64 – which included eight birdies – helped him overcome an opening-round 75; he's tied for 27th.
 
Cal's "B" lineup shot a 9-under 275 over the first 18 holes played, led by a 3-under 68 by Papon Sawatyanon, but the group collectively fell back to 11th place from a tie for seventh in the second round. Charlie Berridge (69-70) leads the "B" lineup at 3-under in a tie for 27th.
 
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Round three of the Alister MacKenzie Invitational will take place Tuesday. Cal's 11 golfers will tee off between 8:55-9:49 a.m. PT. Live scoring is available on Golfstat.
 
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