.png&width=32&height=32&type=webp)
California Golden Bears Athletics
California
Collegiate Invitational
Cal Set To Start Spring Season In Mexico
1/31/2024 6:39 PM | Women's Golf
No. 18 Cal Owns Highest Ranking Among 12-Team Field
GUADALAJARA, Mexico – Following a record-filled fall season, the No. 18 California women's golf team begins its 2024 spring slate this weekend at the Collegiate Invitational.
The Golden Bears enter the two-day competition on the par-72, 6,333-yard course at Guadalajara Country Club with the highest national ranking (Spikemark) among the 12-team field. This will be their first tournament since they climbed six spots on the final day of the Stanford Intercollegiate to earn a third-place team finish in late October.
"Heading into the spring, we really just want to approach this in a similar way as we did in the fall," junior Kaylyn Noh said. "We just came off a really long and productive break and we're excited to get back out there. We know there's really no limit to where we can finish this season."
While this is the second straight year that the Bears will compete in the Virginia-hosted tournament, its sole returning member from last year's Collegiate Invitational squad is Jieming Yang, who makes the lineup for the second time in her junior season.
Joining Yang are Noh, Adora Liu, Olivia Lee, and Constance Fouillet, all of whom played a key role in their team's unprecedented 15-day run from Sept. 25-Oct. 8 which saw the Bears win the Molly Invitational, the Big Match and the Ron Moore Intercollegiate. It was the first time in program history that the Bears won three straight tournaments.
"The thing that our team is able to do so well is trust each other when we're out there," Noh said. "Unlike other sports where you're constantly working through strategies with your teammates, golf is a very individual sport. Being able to trust what your teammates are doing well and knowing that they have trust in you is what pushed us to do so well this past fall, and I think taking that into the spring is going to help us a lot."
The Bears originally hosted at Guadalajara Country Club back in 2006, when Virginia head coach Ria Scott was a student-athlete at Cal. They all returned in February of 2020 when UVA hosted the inaugural Collegiate Invitational, which turned out to be one of the final collegiate golf events prior to the COVID-19 shutdowns.
TOURNAMENT INFO
- Dates: Feb. 2-3, 2024
- Format: 54 holes (27-27, Friday-Saturday)
- First Tee Time: 6:00 a.m. PT
- Location: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico | Guadalajara Country Club
- Course Info: Par 72 | 6,333 Yards
- Host: Virginia
- Live Scoring: Golfstat
- Day 1 Pairings
THE FIELD (12)
No. 18 California, Colorado State, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Maryland, NC State, New Mexico, SMU, Tennessee, UNLV, Virginia
OFF THE TEE
1 – Kaylyn Noh (Hole 1, 7:21 a.m. PT)
Top Finish: T13, Ron Moore Intercollegiate
Best 18 Holes: 67 (-5), Dick McGuire & Molly Invitationals
Best 54 Holes: 212 (-4), Ron Moore Intercollegiate
Last Time Out: 74-68-68 – 210 (-3), Stanford Intercollegiate
Quick Facts: During the fall, led team with two rounds of 5-under-par – one stroke shy of the program record – and had the third-most par or better rounds (7) … During Cal's first-ever run of three straight wins, she earned her first two top-20 finishes as a Bear and a 3&2 win over Stanford in the Big Match … During the summer, won the inaugural Virginia Women's Open and medaled at the CA Women's Amateur Championship
2 – Adora Liu (Hole 1, 7:12 a.m. PT)
Top Finish: T7, Molly Invitational
Best 18 Holes: 69 (-3), Dick McGuire & Molly Invitationals
Best 54 Holes: 212 (-4), Ron Moore Intercollegiate
Last Time Out: 70-69-72 – 211 (-2), Stanford Intercollegiate
Quick Facts: Team's low scorer during the fall season (71.3) ... 2nd on the team with eight par or better rounds … Posted a career-best 3-under 69 round in each of Cal's first two tournaments … Finished second on the team at the season-opening Dick McGuire Invitational … During the fall, posted the team's best 54-hole score (-7), tied for the team-lead with two top-10 finishes and recorded a rare albatross at the Stanford Intercollegiate
3 – Olivia Lee (Hole 1, 7:03 a.m. PT)
Top Finish: T7, Molly Invitational
Best 18 Holes: 67 (-5), Molly Invitational Rd. 3
Best 54 Holes: 212 (-4), Ron Moore Intercollegiate
Last Time Out: 80-79-73 – 232 (+19), Stanford Intercollegiate
Quick Facts: Her first three appearances of the season coincided with the program's first-ever run of three straight wins, which saw her shoot a team-best 12-under-par and earn a 3&2 win over Stanford in the Big Match ... During the fall, tied for the team lead with two top-10 finishes ... Recorded her first two sub-70 rounds as a Bear at the Molly, with her career-best 5-under 67 in the final round of the Molly Invitational being one stroke shy of the individual program record ... Nominated for Pac-12 Golfer of the Week on Oct. 2
4 – Constance Fouillet (Hole 1, 6:54 a.m. PT)
Top Finish: T7, Molly Invitational
Best 18 Holes: 66 (-6), Molly Invitational Rd. 1
Best 54 Holes: 212 (-4), Ron Moore Intercollegiate
Last Time Out: 69-78-68 – 215 (+2), Stanford Intercollegiate
Quick Facts: Ended fall season on pace to set Cal's freshman scoring record (71.5) … Tied program's individual 18-hole record with a 6-under 66 at the Molly Invitational … Led team with 9 rounds of par or better and 4 sub-70 rounds in the fall ... Cal's low scorer in each of its first two tournaments ... Competed in all three events during program's first-ever run of three straight wins
5 – Jieming Yang (Hole 1, 6:45 a.m. PT)
Top Finish: T47, Molly Invitational
Best 18 Holes: 75 (+3), Molly Invitational Rd. 1 & 3
Best 54 Holes: 227 (+11), Molly Invitational
Last Time Out: 75-77-75 – 227 (+11), Molly Invitational
Quick Facts: Her lone appearance in the fall was at the Molly Invitational, which went down as Cal's first of three straight wins and its best team score (-28) in program history … In 2023, was the Bears' low scorer in the fall with an average score of 73.4 and team-best five par or better rounds
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal women's golf, follow the Bears on Twitter and Instagram (@CalWGolf).
