The PGA Tour resumed its season amid the COVID-19 pandemic June 11, and Cal men’s golf alumnus Collin Morikawa captured the PGA Championship on Aug. 9. For the Bears’ Alex and Marie Shipman Director of Men’s Golf Walter Chun, this was an exciting time, not only because of Morikawa’s success but also because of the anticipation of the fall season to come.
But two days after Morikawa set Cal golf history, the Pac-12 announced the cancellation of all fall sports across the conference, effectively ending the Bears’ shot at redeeming their shortened spring season.
Nonetheless, a few Bears have found their stroke in amateur tournaments during the college offseason.
At the end of July, redshirt freshman Costas Panay captured the Silverado Amateur title after finishing 8-under for the 54-hole event. More recently, senior Finigan Tilly, who had a breakout season last fall bleeding into the spring, took home the California State Fair Championship in September, ahead of teammates junior James Song (T18), sophomore transfer Sebastian Iqbal (T18) and redshirt junior Joseph Chun (T42).
While the timeline for golf’s collegiate return remains unclear, the Bears are still gearing up to hang with the best the NCAA has to offer — a position they owned in March.