Cal Men's Golf: Sampson Zheng Leads Bears to NCAA Championships

Senior Sampson Zheng finishes second individually, Bears secure No. 2 spot in team competition.

Cal men's golf team / Photo by Denis Poroy, KLC fotos

The Cal men’s golf team has qualified for the NCAA Championships for the first time in five years after finishing second Wednesday at the Rancho Santa Fe Regional at The Farms Golf Club.

The Bears, seeded fourth and ranked 22nd nationally, finished second at the 14-team event with a three-day score of 3 over par. Cal’s final-round score of 279 was its lowest of the tournament.

Senior Sampson Zheng, a native of Nagoya, Japan, finished second individually after leading through the first two rounds. Zheng wound up at minus-4 through the 54-hole event, shooting 66-69-71 for three rounds.

The Bears now advance to the NCAA Championships, set for May 24-29 at Omni La Costa Resort in Carlsbad, near San Diego. Cal most recently made it to the NCAAs in 2019, and the Bears won their only national title in 2004.

"I'm extremely proud of this group – all week they showed a tremendous amount of grit and determination," Cal coach Walter Chun said. "There's a great deal of pressure at this level, and they handled it so well. I'm thankful for this team and excited to see them play for a national championship."

Cal’s Eric Lee tied for seventh at even par after final-round 1-over 71, Jeewon Park tied for 25th at plus-5 and Ethan Fang tied 39th at plus-9.

Sophomore Nathan Wang, inserted into the lineup after Monday’s first round, gave the Bears a boost with a final-round 67. He finished 36 holes at even par.

Oklahoma’s Ben Lorenz won individual honors at minus-8 after a final-round 6-under 64.

The Sooners won the team crown with a minus-3 score, six strokes better than the runner-up Bears. The top five finishers advance to the NCAA tournament, with Arizona State and Washington missing the cut at sixth and eighth, respectively.

Elsewhere, Stanford, Arizona and Utah of the Pac-12 also qualified for the 30-team NCAA nationals.