BERKELEY – A quick turnaround will send the California men's golf team to Stockton for the Pacific Invitational, a three-day, 54-hole tournament hosted at Stockton Country Club between Monday and Wednesday.
 
The Golden Bears hosted the Alister MacKenzie Invitational earlier this week at Meadow Club in Fairfax, placing fourth overall with a 42-under-par performance. All three squads that finished ahead of Cal at the MacKenzie – champion San Jose State, Pacific and San Diego – will compete in the Pacific Invitational. Cal has finished in fourth place in two consecutive tournaments to start its first season under Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf Michael Wilson.
 
Cal's five-man lineup will be anchored by junior Daniel Heo, who has two top-six finishes under his belt to start the fall. Wenliang Xie, Kuangyu (Tony) Chen and Matthew Miyamoto will make their third straight appearances in the lineup, while Ziqin (Eric) Zhou is set to compete in his first stroke-play competition for the Bears.
 
TOURNAMENT INFO

• Dates: Oct. 14-15, 2024
• Format: 54 holes (18-18-18, Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday); 5-count-4
• Course Info: Par 71 | 6,566 Yards
• Location: Stockton, California | Stockton Country Club
• Live Scoring: Golfstat

THE FIELD (15)
California, Californa Baptist, Cal State Fullerton, CSUN, Grand Canyon, Idaho, Nevada, Pacific, Sacramento State, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Diego, San Diego, Utah Tech, Washington State

OFF THE TEE
1. Daniel Heo
2. Wenliang Xie
3. Ziqin (Eric) Zhou
4. Kuangyu (Tony) Chen
5. Matthew Miyamoto
I. Papon Sawatyanon
 
TOP BEAR
Daniel Heo has played standout golf throughout the first month of the 2024-25 campaign, finishing in ties for fourth and sixth individually at The Tindall (Sept. 23-24) and the Alister MacKenzie Invitational (Oct. 7-8), respectively, along with a 2UP win in his match against Stanford in the annual Big Match (Sept. 26). Heo set personal collegiate bests of 7-under-par and a 54-hole-score of 206 at The Tindall, only to shatter those numbers with a 16-under-par 197 at the MacKenzie last week. The Cypress, California, native has shot under par in five of six stroke-play rounds so far this fall.
 
BACK FROM JAPAN
Cal was without two of its golfers during the Alister MacKenzie Invitational, as freshman Ziqin (Eric) Zhou and redshirt senior Kuangyu (Tony) Chen played in the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Gotemba, Japan from Oct. 3-6. Zhou – who won his match in the Big Match but has yet to play in Cal's first two stroke-play tournaments – was dominant in the premier tournament, finishing as runner-up with an 11-under-par 269 (69-67-65-68) behind Wenyi Ding. Chen (71-69-71-70—281) played all four rounds as well, finishing in a tie for 19th at 1-over-par.
 
LEADING THE CHARGE
The Bears are playing their first season under Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf Michael Wilson, who was hired to the position on July 22. Wilson, a 2007 alumnus and key member of Cal's 2004 NCAA Men's Golf Championship team, returned to Berkeley most recently following two successful seasons at the helm of Colorado State's program (2022-24), having led the Rams to back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances and a 2023 NCAA Championship berth. He's in his eighth season as a Division I head coach.
 
FINAL CHANCES IN FALL COMPETITION
Cal has just one more tournament on its fall schedule after the Pacific Invitational, the Cal Poly Invitational on Oct. 28-30 at The Preserve Golf Club in Carmel. The Bears won the 2023 Cal Poly Invitational title while Chen claimed individual medalist honors.
 
NEW ERA TEED UP FOR CAL GOLF
A transformational gift in support of Cal Golf is setting a new course for the sport and providing a model for philanthropic engagement at a pivotal moment for Cal Athletics. The $23 million gift — the largest endowment gift in Cal Athletics history — provided by an anonymous donor and established campus friend, will fully endow the men's and women's teams and provide Golden Bear golfers with a world class training facility at the Stonebrae Country Club. Read more about the gift at inspire.berkeley.edu.
 
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's golf, follow the Bears on X/Twitter (@CalMensGolf), Instagram (@CalMensGolf) and Facebook (/CalMensGolf).