The 18th-ranked California men’s golf team will continue a competitive spring slate at the Pauma Valley Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.
The two-day, 54-hole tournament will be hosted by Loyola Marymount at Pauma Valley Country Club, located just 50 miles north of San Diego. Cal is one of three top-20 squads playing in the event along with No. 3 Vanderbilt and No. 10 Oklahoma, while 10 of the 15 teams in the field are ranked in the top 50 (Clippd).
TOURNAMENT INFO
- Dates: March 18-19, 2024
- Format: 54 holes (36-18, Monday-Tuesday); 5-count-4
- Location: Pauma Valley, California | Pauma Valley Country Club
- Course Info: Par 71 | 7,311 Yards
- Live Scoring: Golfstat
THE FIELD (15)
#46 BYU, #18 California, Colorado State, #44 Fresno State, #38 LMU, #10 Oklahoma, #36 Oklahoma State, Pacific, San Diego, #41 SMU, #42 South Florida, Saint Mary’s, TCU, #32 UCLA, #3 Vanderbilt
OFF THE TEE
1. Kuangyu (Tony) Chen
2. Eric Lee
3. Ethan Fang
4. Nathan Wang
5. Daniel Heo
Individual: Jeewon Park
CHIP SHOTS
- Cal owns a 73-21-1 record with five top-three finishes and a pair of victories in seven stroke-play events this season. The two victories came back-to-back in October at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational and the Cal Poly Invitational.
- The Golden Bears have been ranked 18th nationally (Clippd) for the past four weeks.
- Kuangyu (Tony) Chen has played in all seven of Cal’s previous stroke-play events this season, owning a 70.52 scoring average across 21 rounds. Chen ended the 2023 fall season with a bang by winning the Cal Poly Invitational (206, -10) and recently tied for third at the John Burns Intercollegiate last month (209, -7). He’s ranked 72nd nationally (Clippd) entering the Pauma Valley Invitational.
- Cal most recently placed 10th (865, +13) in a stacked 15-team field at the Cabo Collegiate on March 3-5. Nine top-20 teams participated in the event.
- The freshman duo of Eric Lee and Ethan Fang continue to earn spots in the Cal lineup. Lee – who won his collegiate debut at the Marquette Intercollegiate and has a 71.72 scoring average in six events – and Fang, who has already posted two top-10 finishes this spring and is averaging 71.61 strokes per round, are Cal’s No. 2 and 3 golfers this week, respectively.
- Daniel Heo will play his first team event of the spring as Cal’s No. 5. He shot 3-over-par with a 72.00 scoring average in four fall tournaments.
- Three Bears – Chen, Lee and Sampson Zheng – earned Pac-12 Golfer of the Week honors in the fall.