The origins of golf can be traced back to the 15th century, with its first documented mention coming from a ban imposed by King James II of Scotland. As early as 1552, golf was being played on the land now famously known as The Old Course in St Andrews, Scotland, and it is often regarded as the world’s first golf course.

Between Oct. 13-15, Cal men’s golf will be granted the special opportunity to participate in the St Andrews Links Collegiate, a tournament held at this historical site. 

Along with the women’s golf program, both Bear squads have been invited to participate in this three-day event, where they find themselves amongst a pool of four universities — Princeton, Michigan State and the University of St Andrews. 

“It will be a great bonding experience for both teams (women’s and men’s),” said Cal senior Daniel Heo. “It’ll be similar feelings to those we felt in the Big Match, so I am really looking forward to it.”

This tournament features a unique format, where the first two days are held as stroke play on the Jubilee Course, with the final day consisting of medal match play on the Old Course. 

The top two teams from stroke play will advance to the championship match, while the remaining two will compete in a consolation match. The scores at the end of stroke play also determine the men’s and women’s individual title winners. 

Medal match play is conducted in a head-to-head format, which both Cal teams have already become familiar with this season through their participation in the Big Match. In this format, teammates are paired together to face off against another university duo, and each win contributes a point to the team’s total score. 

The Bears have gotten off to a strong start this season, both individually and as a team, suggesting that they should have the ability to make a push for the titles in this upcoming event. 

Specifically, for the Cal men’s program, in both tournaments that it has competed in this fall, the blue and gold have landed top-five finishes as a team. Despite not winning their most recent event alongside the women’s team at the Big Match, the team was still able to push for a playoff after being down early, demonstrating the grit they possess. 

At the individual level, Cal has produced notable performances early on that should provide some confidence heading into the St Andrews Collegiate. 

And at The Tindall this season, the Bears had two sophomores put up career-best performances. Ziqin Zhou shot 8-under par and finished in fifth place individually, while Sihao Cong shot 5-under par and landed in 11th place.

Additionally, Heo and Cong have finished in the top 20 individually in both invitationals this season. In total, Cal has achieved an impressive six top 20 individual finishes in just one month of play. 

Shifting to St Andrews, despite the small pool of teams, the Bears will still face fierce competition, as Princeton and Michigan State have had their own successes. 

The Tigers have finished in the top five in two of their three tournaments, including a second-place finish at the Jim DeLapa Collegiate. Princeton senior Riccardo Fantinelli was incredibly dominant, shooting 10-below par and finishing in third place individually. 

Cal has already shared the course with the Spartans this fall, as both teams also played in the Folds of Honor Collegiate, where Michigan State finished behind the Bears in seventh place. 

In the Spartans’ most recent competition at the Windon Memorial Classic, they came away with a sixth place finish. Their fellow golfers Ashton McCulloch and Caleb Bond shot 5-under par, good for a tie in 14th place individually. 

Even with the staunch competition that Cal will face, the St Andrews Collegiate is still a prime opportunity for the team to make a statement and win at such a historical and vital site for golfers around the world. 

“I’m super excited to be honest, I’ve never been to (Scotland). The Old Course is pretty much where golf started,” Heo said. “I am really excited to go out there and see how the course plays.”

The Bears will tee off in front of a national audience Oct. 13, with NBC Sports providing coverage starting at 9 a.m. Eastern Time on the Golf Channel.