Cal Kicks Off NCAA Finals Play...

Janie McCauley doesn't break any new ground on the amazing story that is Cal golf but she does review all of the essential elements that make them an underdog program heading into the NCAA finals Tuesday in Georgia.

Cal has won 11 of 13 in 2012-13. And as Ryan Lavner notes, they head into the finals with a season record of 173-3-1 and up over 6000 shots on fields this year.

The top-ranked California men's golf team has no home course to call its own, typically shuttling among seven or eight local spots. Most of the Golden Bears were passed on by the elite college golf programs.

Still, Cal is favored to win the NCAA championships beginning Tuesday in Georgia — quite an accomplishment for the record-setting program that operates without any financial help from the university. The golf team has an annual budget of about $600,000.

Golfweek has all of the coverage, including this Twitter feed of players and coaches. And Lance Ringler reminds us that with the match play format, the dynamics of the NCAA are different than what teams see most of the year.

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