Cal men’s golf is heading to Santa Cruz for the prestigious Western Intercollegiate, marking its final regular season tournament before the ACC championships.
Hosted by San Jose State at the Pasatiempo Golf Club, the Western Intercollegiate is one of the longest-running collegiate tournaments in the country. The tournament has hosted an array of golf stars in their college years such as superstars Tiger Woods and Scottie Scheffler.
The Western will run from April 13-15, following the weekend of the Masters. Much like the iconic professional tournament, individual winners are adorned with a championship jacket.
Arizona’s Filip Jakubcik will return for his final appearance, hoping to defend his title as the back-to-back reigning individual champion. Jakubcik is ranked 27th in the country with several tournament wins under his belt and his most recent at the N.I.T.
Cal will face a familiar field including No. 18 Stanford, the recent Goodwin champions. The 2026 Western will feature the last three tournament winners as well — No. 13 Pepperdine in 2023, Stanford in 2024 and reigning champions No. 35 SDSU.
As the Bears will again face a competitive field, they will look to their most recent successes at the Desimone and Goodwin for momentum. These last tournaments were particularly fruitful for freshman Trevor Cox, who has pulled off two top-10 finishes. Cox intends to maintain his routine in pursuit of another strong showing.
“We all know our game pretty well,” Cox said. “If we take each day shot by shot, I think our team can compete with anyone in the country.”
For Cal, Pasatiempo Golf Course is nothing new. The Bears have implemented past experience on the course into preparation for the Western, simulating both tee and iron shots that replicate the course. Cal is also continuing to emphasize putting and distance control.
The Western Intercollegiate is the last regular season tournament for the Bears as they prepare for the ACC championships later this month, meaning momentum is as important as ever. With promising showings at the last two tournaments, Cal is right where it needs to be heading into the Western.
“It’s a cool feeling knowing there’s one tournament left and then the postseason, so I’m excited to see what our team can do in these next few weeks,” Cox said.
The first tee time is set for 8 a.m. Monday morning with televised coverage on the Golf Channel.