BERKELEY – California is back at the NCAA Men's Golf Championship for the second straight year and 17th time ever as the first 18 holes of stroke play begin Friday morning at Omni La Costa's North Course in Carlsbad. The Golden Bears, ranked 49th nationally, enter the championship as the 29th seed in the 30-team field after finishing fifth at the NCAA Reno Regional last week.
 
Round one begins Friday with Cal teeing off hole 10 between 8:20-9:04 a.m. PT alongside Troy and Augusta. The three teams will also be grouped together in the second round on Saturday, teeing off hole 1 from 1:40-2:24 p.m. PT.
 
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP INFO

• Dates: May 23-28, 2025
• Location: Carlsbad, California | Omni La Costa North Course
• Course: Par 72 | Yardage: 7,528
• Watch: Golf Channel (Monday-Wednesday)
• Live Scoring: Scoreboard
• Tee Times & Pairings: Scoreboard

 
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FORMAT
All 30 teams and six individuals will complete 54 holes of stroke play, with 18 holes Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Following 54 holes of competition, the top 15 teams along with the top nine individuals not on an advancing team will advance for one additional round of stroke play Monday to determine the top eight teams for match-play competition and the 72-hole stroke-play individual champion. The top eight teams, after 72 holes of play, will be placed into a bracket thereafter.
 
In team match-play competition, a total of five points will be available with one point being awarded for each individual match. Winning teams will advance to the semifinals and subsequently, the final. The first team to win three points within the team match will advance, or in the case of the final match, be declared the national champion.
 
OFF THE TEE
1. Ziqin (Eric) Zhou
The Golden Bear rookie will lead the charge in Carlsbad, looking to cap a productive freshman year in a high note. Zhou notched his sixth top-25 finish of the season last week in Reno, tying for 17th with a 1-over-par 217. He carded a critical third-round 69 – Cal's low individual score of the round – to push the Bears into the top five of the Reno Regional; it was his eighth under-par round of the season. Zhou has flashed his talent throughout the year by earning a top-10 finish at the Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate in March as well as a runner-up finish at the prestigious Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Gotemba, Japan, last fall.
 
2. Charlie Berridge
Berridge is tied for the team lead in events (10) and rounds played (30), having provided steady play throughout 2024-25. The senior captain – who will return for a fifth year in 2025-26 – has one top-10 finish on the year and tied Zhou for 17th as Cal's low scorers at the NCAA Reno Regional last week. His 72.26 stroke average is the second best among the five Bears in the NCAA Championship lineup.
 
3. Daniel Heo
Heo owns a team-leading three top-10 finishes this season and takes a 72.20 stroke average to Carlsbad. The junior is tied with Zhou and Berridge for most events (10) and rounds played (30) this season, and tied for 25th (+3, 219) in Reno. Heo has returned to solid form of late after a tough stretch at the start of the spring, placing fifth at the Western Intercollegiate, 22nd at the ACC Championship – he went on to win a 5&4 match against Florida State in the quarterfinals – and 25th at the Reno Regional in his past three tournaments.
 
4. Sihao Cong
Cong, a redshirt freshman, was Cal's top finisher at the ACC Championship with a 14th-place effort. He's played his best golf down the stretch this spring with two additional top-30 finishes since the start of March at the Cabo Collegiate (T27) and the Western Intercollegiate (T30).
 
5. Kuangyu (Tony) Chen
Chen is the lone Golden Bear with previous experience at the NCAA Championship, having been included in last year's lineup that finished 19th overall. The redshirt senior played an important role in Cal advancing through Reno last week after he was inserted into the lineup for Wenliang Xie – who will be Cal's alternate at the NCAA Championship – as he shot a 2-under-par 70 in the second round to help the team vault up the leaderboard.
 
COLLEGE GOLF'S BIGGEST STAGE
The Bears are seeking their second national title, having previously won the 2004 NCAA championship in Hot Springs, Virginia. Cal is back at the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive season after placing 19th last year, and has reached the event nine times since 2010, including six times in a seven-year span between 2010-16. Golden Bear great and current PGA Tour standout Max Homa is the only Cal player to win the NCAA individual title, claiming medalist honors in 2013 as the Bears placed third as a team.
 
LEADING THE CHARGE
The Bears have laid the building blocks for a successful future in their first season under Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men's Golf Michael Wilson, who was hired to the position on July 22, 2024. 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.
 
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