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CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS
Golden Bears Golf Looks to NCAAs and Beyond

By California Media Relations

With the women's program firmly on the national radar screen and the men's team battling to regain the form it showed in the fall entering the Pac-10 championships, both programs have delivered seasons to remember at UC Berkeley.

After ending the spring of 2008 ranked No. 46 in the nation by Golfweek magazine, the Bears charged through the fall of 2008 with a first at the San Francisco (USF) Invitational at the Olympic Club, a second at the Husky (Washington) Invitational and a third at the Wolverine (Michigan) Invitational, then responded to adversity by bouncing back from a tough opening round with a strong seventh at the Prestige (Stanford/UC Davis) to end the calendar year ranked No. 28 by Golfstat and No. 29 by Golfweek.

The Bears gained a significant addition with the arrival of junior John Murphy, a transfer from Old Dominion, where he was selected Most Outstanding Performer in the Colonial Athletic Association Conference his freshman year. With five of its top six golfers back, plus two-time all-Pac 10 selection Michael Jensen after a redshirt year and junior all-conference transfer John Murphy, the Golden Bears had an up-and-down spring after putting together an impressive fall season.

The spring season got underway Feb. 2-3 at the Arizona Intercollegiate, with a top-notch field playing on a desert course that ended with the Bears in sixth, with Murphy, Stephen Hale and George Gandranata finishing in the top 20.

Competition continued in late February at the USC Collegiate Invitational, where Cal finished third at plus-6, edging the host and then-No. 4 Trojans by one stroke and finishing ahead of conference foes then-No. 9 Washington, then-No. 19 UCLA and Oregon State. After a difficult 15th at the UNLV-hosted Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship the Bears bounced back with fifth-place finishes at the National Invitational and the Western Intercollegiate.

The seesaw ride continued, however, as the final regular-season events saw Cal place 13th at the Thunderbird and sixth at the U.S. Intercollegiate.

The California Golden Bears women's golf team has competed in nine straight NCAA regionals and has advanced to six NCAA championships, but it's the 2009 NCAAs that matter to this squad. "This team is hungry," said head coach Nancy McDaniel.

The Bears were the preseason No. 15 team according to Golfweek after finishing the 2008 season ranked No. 23. Going into the spring, they had two players ranked in the top-100 individuals, sophomore Pia Halbig at No. 45 and Allison Goodman at No. 86. As the season wound down, Halbig moved up to No. 26 and senior Shannon Yocum moved into the top 100 at No. 72.

"They left the NCAA regionals last spring with a pit in their stomach, knowing that they wanted to come back and prove themselves this year," McDaniel said. Much of the hard work over the summer came from a team trip to Scotland last June. The team not only had the opportunity to play golf in the birthplace of the sport, they also played as individuals in the British Women's Open Amateur Golf Championship at North Berwick.

The team's veteran leadership comes from the senior tandem of Yocum and Goodman, both honorable mentions for All-Pac 10 last season and both posting career-best 5-unders this fall in Colorado. The spring season opened at Palos Verdes, Yocum's home course.

"That was a truly special thing for Shannon, to be able to go back and play her home course at the invitational. Starting on her home course got her off on the right foot," McDaniel said.

Sophomore Halbig led the team in the fall with a 71.7 average. Halbig, ranked in the top 50 by Golfweek, was a second-team All-Pac 10 honoree last season. Halbig missed the first couple of weeks of school to compete at the 2008 World Amateur Team Championships as a member of the German national team.

The team also has three very talented newcomers, two of whom look to make an immediate impact. Diane Kwon was named a Notable Newcomer by Golfweek. Kwon, a Bay Area local from Fremont, played nine rounds in the fall for the Bears, toughing through playing with an injured ankle.

"Our future looks really bright. This is just an amazing group and I am very optimistic," said McDaniel.

A good deal of the sparkle surrounding the excitement over the spring season comes from the one-year-old dedicated short-game facility for the programs at Metropolitan Golf Links in Oakland.

Said Desimone: "We are very fortunate to have such a great short-game facility at Metropolitan. There's no question that the success both teams are enjoying is due to the improvement in our short games and our putting, and it is directly linked to that facility."

With talented student-athletes, committed coaches and superior facilities, the Golden Bears are set to shine in 2009.