The California men’s golf team shot an 8-over-par 296 and climbed into a tie for ninth place in the second round of the Blessings Collegiate Invitational on Tuesday at Blessings Golf Club.
Cal’s second-round 296 was the fifth-best team score posted in the 11-team field on Tuesday, marking a significant bounce-back effort following its 21-over-par 309 on Monday. Junior and two-time All-Pac-12 team honorable mention Aaron Du led the charge as he moved into a tie for 26th individually by carding a 2-under par 70. He and fellow junior Sampson Zheng – who shot a 1-over-par 73 and is tied for 22nd after 36 holes – are within four strokes of the top 10.
The Golden Bears will enter Wednesday’s final round tied with UNLV for ninth place and two strokes behind eighth-place UCLA. Texas A&M (-11) owns a convincing lead ahead of second-place Arkansas (+1) and third-place Mississippi State (+9).
Du’s second-round 70 was keyed by a 2-under-par back nine with birdies on holes 10 and 17. Despite back-to-back bogeys on holes 6 and 7, the junior was able to finish the front nine at even par with birdies on holes 2 and 8.
Zheng’s second round was highlighted by an eagle on the fifth hole, but three bogeys throughout the final five holes dropped him back to 1-over-par for the day. His 1-under-par 35 on the front nine had him in contention with the top 10 individually before the late struggles.