California Golden Bears Athletics
Sunday, May 26
Carlsbad, CA
All Day
California
vs
NCAA Championships
Ethan Fang and the Golden Bears concluded play the 2024 NCAA Championships on Sunday.
Photo by: Todd Drexler/SE Sports Media
Cal Finishes 19th At NCAA Championships
5/26/2024 7:59 PM | Men's Golf
Golden Bears See Impressive Season Conclude In Carlsbad
CARLSBAD – The California men's golf team saw its 2023-24 season come to an end on the third day of the NCAA Championships at Omni La Costa's North Course. The 20th-ranked Golden Bears could not come up with the shots they needed down the stretch of the third round Sunday, finishing in 19th place after shooting 16-over-par for the day and 40-over-par for the tournament.
The top 15 squads in the 30-team field and the top nine individuals not on an advancing team advanced for a fourth and final round of stroke play on Monday to determine the top eight teams for match-play competition.
The Golden Bears (304-296-304 – 904) entered the day in 16th place and just two strokes behind the cutline. They moved into the top 15 with a steady 1-over-par effort on the front-nine holes, but fell back outside of the advancing half of the field after collectively tallying just two birdies – both by Sampson Zheng – on the back nine. Freshman Ethan Fang, one of two Golden Bears who carded a team-best 3-over-par 75 on Sunday, was 1-under on the front nine following back-to-back birdies on holes 8-9.
Zheng, a senior playing the final event of his All-American collegiate career, sunk a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to tie for 60th overall at 8-over-par. Eric Lee (+11) and Fang joined Zheng inside the top 100 individually, placing 86th and 95th, respectively.
It was Cal's 16th all-time NCAA Championships appearance and its first since 2019. The Golden Bears had eight top-three finishes – including two tournament wins and four runner-up finishes – in 13 stroke-play events this season.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
CAL ON INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's golf, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalMensGolf), Instagram (@CalMensGolf) and Facebook (/CalMensGolf).
The top 15 squads in the 30-team field and the top nine individuals not on an advancing team advanced for a fourth and final round of stroke play on Monday to determine the top eight teams for match-play competition.
The Golden Bears (304-296-304 – 904) entered the day in 16th place and just two strokes behind the cutline. They moved into the top 15 with a steady 1-over-par effort on the front-nine holes, but fell back outside of the advancing half of the field after collectively tallying just two birdies – both by Sampson Zheng – on the back nine. Freshman Ethan Fang, one of two Golden Bears who carded a team-best 3-over-par 75 on Sunday, was 1-under on the front nine following back-to-back birdies on holes 8-9.
Zheng, a senior playing the final event of his All-American collegiate career, sunk a birdie on the par-5 18th hole to tie for 60th overall at 8-over-par. Eric Lee (+11) and Fang joined Zheng inside the top 100 individually, placing 86th and 95th, respectively.
It was Cal's 16th all-time NCAA Championships appearance and its first since 2019. The Golden Bears had eight top-three finishes – including two tournament wins and four runner-up finishes – in 13 stroke-play events this season.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
| Place | Team | To Par | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
| 1 | Illinois | -2 | 293 | 287 | 282 | 862 |
| 2 | Virginia | +4 | 290 | 287 | 291 | 868 |
| 3 | Vanderbilt | +9 | 297 | 286 | 290 | 873 |
| 4 | Florida State | +10 | 299 | 289 | 286 | 874 |
| 5 | Ohio State | +13 | 294 | 294 | 289 | 877 |
| 19 | California | +40 | 304 | 296 | 304 | 904 |
CAL ON INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
| Place | Name | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total |
| T60 | Sampson Zheng | 72 | 77 | 75 | 224 (+8) |
| T86 | Eric Lee | 79 | 70 | 78 | 227 (+11) |
| T95 | Ethan Fang | 77 | 76 | 75 | 228 (+12) |
| T110 | Nathan Wang | 76 | 78 | 76 | 230 (+14) |
| T122 | Kuangyu (Tony) Chen | 82 | 73 | 78 | 233 (+17) |
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal men's golf, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalMensGolf), Instagram (@CalMensGolf) and Facebook (/CalMensGolf).
Players Mentioned
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