When the Cal men's golf team left the Meadow Club course in Fairfax, Calif. on Monday evening, it was only one stroke behind the leader. Unfortunately for the host Bears, that was the closest they would get to a Pac-10 championship.

Cal took third place in the three-day, 72-hole tournament, its best finish in the Pac-10 championships since 2000. The final tally of 18-over was only three strokes behind the winner, No. 20 Arizona State, that broke the tie with No. 3 USC in a one-hole playoff.

"It's a little bittersweet," coach Steve Desimone said. "We played great golf, and we made a really serious run at this. It's disappointing not to have won. Obviously the team knows they did a superb job, and they gave everything they had...You beat two teams in the top 10 with UCLA and Stanford, you're obviously doing a lot of things right. In the end, we can keep our heads up. It was a job well done, and we're looking to postseason competition now."

Junior All-American candidate George Gandranata, who was one of only five golfers to finish the tournament under par, shot a 1-under and was just two strokes away from competing in the individual playoff for first place.

"He was oh-so-close," Desimone said. "There weren't a lot of guys under par, which tells you that even though his putting kind of let him down in the final nine, he obviously did a lot of things right over 72 holes."

The Bears also got clutch performances down the stretch from sophomore Evan Derian and freshman Stephen Hale. Both golfers shot 2-under in the final round to put Cal ahead of No. 4 UCLA and No. 7 Stanford. Derian finished at even par, good for sixth place, while Hale tied for 18th at 5-over.

"It's a real confidence booster," Derian said. "It shows we can really play with the best teams in the country...It just goes to show that we're definitely closing the gap on some of the more highly ranked teams in the country."

Senior Brandon Beck, playing in his final Pac-10 championship, shot a first-round 68 en route to an overall tally of 295.

"I've been here five years, and this is the first time we've been in the top three," Beck said. "The best we've finished prior to this was sixth. It's nice to get up there in the top three. I'm definitely glad I got to experience that in my five years here."

Three Bears were also selected for Pac-10 honors at tournament's end. Hale was named to the second team all-conference, and Derian and Gandranata took home honorable mentions.

"This is my first time making all-conference," Gandranata said. "It was one of my goals at the beginning of the season to make all-conference, so to accomplish that in a really good conference is a really big honor."

The Cal's third place finish in the Pac-10 championships solidifies its postseason berth in the upcoming NCAA Western Regionals.

"We have a team meeting tomorrow afternoon, and the first practice round for the regionals is in two weeks," Desimone said. "We've got to prepare for that and for finals...so it's going to be a delicate balance over the next couple weeks. But it's great to know that postseason competition is just a few weeks away. It's really a reward for the way we've played."

Tags: PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIPS