Winning is not foreign to the Cal men’s golf team. Coming off of one of the most successful seasons in college golf history allowed the team to have tremendous confidence coming into the new year. Add the top player this year receiving a tremendous accolade last week and a huge victory in the team’s most recent tournament. There is clearly no denying that the Bears have it in themselves to win. The team will try to use this to its advantage when it hosts the Alister Mackenzie Invitational on Monday and Tuesday.
Cal will be hosting its only tournament of the season in Sonoma, Calif., at the Sonoma Golf Club. The tournament consists of 16 teams on a 7,103-yard course that is par-72. Teams taking part in the tournament include Pac-12 foes No. 23 Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon and Oregon State. Also competing in the event are local rivals USF, Fresno State and San Jose State.
Hosting the tournament adds a level of ease that makes it unique from any other.
“(Having) friendly faces at the tournament just makes you that more comfortable,” said senior Brandon Hagy.
The Bears are ranked No. 4 in the country, despite a dominant win a couple of weeks ago at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational in Ohio (281-280-281 – 842, -10). Cal finished the event 19 strokes ahead of second-place Oklahoma (No. 12).
Individually, Hagy (71-67-69 -207-6) ended the event in first place. His performance from that tournament and other tournaments this season led to him being named the Pac-12 Men’s Golfer of the Month for September. Hagy is the sixth Cal player in a row to receive this honor. He has a 69.4-stroke average and has medaled in each of the tournaments he has played in this season.
“The Pac-12 is the best golf conference in the country, so any time you win an award like that in a conference that is so competitive, it shows that a lot of the hard work I am putting in is paying off,” Hagy said.
Despite the confidence Cal feels coming into the event, the team will have some obstacles to overcome. Hagy is coming into the tournament at less than 100 percent after injuring his foot Wednesday night. Michael Kim was ill coming into the weekend and is unable to play in the tournament. Not having these top players in optimal health hurts the team.
“We have a lot of really good players on this team, but to lose last year’s National Player of the Year, the reigning Pac-12 player of the year and arguably the No. 1 player in the country, you got both of those guys out of your lineup — those are big holes to fill,” said head coach Steve Desimone.
Additionally, the Bears are hosting the event at the Sonoma Golf Club, as opposed to hosting it at the Meadow Club in Fairfax, Calif., where the tournament was held from 2002 to 2007 and 2009 to 2012. The team is not as familiar with this course, which may reduce the advantage of hosting the event.
Despite all of this, Desimone still has high expectations.
“I have a great deal of confidence they will be ready to go come Monday morning,” he said.
No matter what conditions the team plays in, confidence will be the key to victory.
Alaina Getzenberg covers golf. Contact her at [email protected]