California freshman Eric Lee won co-medalist honors in his collegiate debut at the Marquette Intercollegiate at Erin Hills, sinking birdies on holes 16 and 18 to rally back for a share of the individual title Tuesday afternoon.
Playing as an individual, Lee finished 3-under-par across 54 holes (71-70-72) to finish tied with Chattanooga’s Sam Espinosa-Trueba atop the 78-player field. Cal finished as the runner-up in the 12-team field, shooting 14-over-par (294-292-292) across three days of competition and placed only behind the champion Mocs (+11).
Lee, who entered Tuesday tied for the individual lead following a first-round 71 and second-round 70, overcame four bogeys throughout the final round, including three over a four-hole span on the back nine. With Espinosa-Trueba’s round already finished, Lee battled his way back atop the leaderboard with the two birdies on 16 and 18 to clinch the shared victory.
“I went into this tournament without many expectations because I didn’t know how my game would compare to older players’ (games),” Lee said. “I just kept the mindset of playing my own game and staying in the moment. I think having that mentality kept me comfortable throughout the final round.”
Three other Golden Bears joined Lee in the top 20 individually, including senior Sampson Zheng (70-73-71) who went under par for the second time in three rounds on Tuesday to tie for third at 2-under. It was Zheng’s fifth consecutive top-10 finish dating back to last season and the ninth of his collegiate career. Redshirt junior Tony Chen (75-72-72) notched his second straight even-par 72 on Tuesday to finish at 3-over in a tie for 12th, while fellow freshman Ethan Fang (76-73-73) climbed the leaderboard into a tie for 19th with a strong final 36 holes.
Lee is the first Bear to win at least a share of an individual title since Zheng did the same at the John A. Burns Intercollegiate in Hawaii last February.
TEAM LEADERBOARD
|
Place |
Team |
To Par |
R1 |
R2 |
R3 |
Total |
|
1 |
Chattanooga |
+11 |
296 |
294 |
285 |
875 |
|
2 |
California |
+14 |
294 |
292 |
292 |
878 |
|
T3. |
Purdue |
+15 |
287 |
296 |
296 |
587 |
|
T3. |
#17 Texas A&M |
+15 |
300 |
290 |
289 |
879 |
|
5. |
Cincinnati |
+17 |
298 |
294 |
289 |
881 |
|
6. |
Marquette |
+22 |
289 |
306 |
291 |
886 |
|
7. |
Augusta |
+26 |
291 |
296 |
303 |
890 |
|
8. |
Penn State |
+28 |
306 |
302 |
284 |
892 |
|
9. |
Nevada |
+32 |
298 |
313 |
285 |
896 |
|
10. |
UC Davis |
+37 |
311 |
295 |
295 |
901 |
|
11 |
Wisconsin |
+39 |
301 |
305 |
297 |
903 |
|
12 |
Dayton |
+41 |
309 |
299 |
297 |
905 |
CAL ON INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
|
Place |
Name |
R1 |
R2 |
R3 |
Total |
|
T1 |
Eric Lee (Ind.) |
71 (-1) |
70 (-2) |
72 (E) |
213 (-3) |
|
T3 |
Sampson Zheng |
70 (-2) |
73 (+1) |
71 (-1) |
214 (-2) |
|
T12 |
Tony Chen |
75 (+3) |
72 (E) |
72 (E) |
219 (+3) |
|
T19 |
Ethan Fang |
76 (+4) |
73 (+1) |
73 (+1) |
222 (+6) |
|
T35 |
Ethan Chung |
74 (+2) |
76 (+4) |
76 (+4) |
226 (+10) |
|
T43 |
Daniel Heo |
75 (+3) |
74 (+2) |
79 (+7) |
228 (+12) |