The last time the Penn State men's golf team was in action, it was perched atop the leader board at the VCU/Mattaponi Springs Shootout. That victory was nearly two weeks ago, and after an extended layoff, the Nittany Lions will be back on the course today in Fairfax, Ca., for the Alister Mackenzie Invitational.

The Penn State men's team is one of the 15 teams that will be teeing off at the Meadow Club Golf Course, home of the California Golden Bears.

The Lions have spent the last two weeks preparing for this tournament, trying to build on the momentum of their recent first-place finish.

Head coach Greg Nye thinks the team has done a good job getting ready.

"The guys did a decent job in practice over the weekend," Nye said. "[The Meadow Club] is a very similar golf course to the one we played in Michigan and I think the guys can do pretty well."

The most notable difference between the VCU/Mattaponi Springs Shootout and Penn State's previous tournament, the Wolverine Invitational, was the fact that the team got more contributions from the entire lineup of golfers.

"It wasn't a one man effort. It was all five of us playing well," freshman Kevin Foley said.

Foley led the Lions with a seven-under-par performance at the Mattaponi Springs Golf Club.

Sophomore Chad Bricker and junior Robert Rohanna rounded out the top three.

But Nye also stressed the importance of the contributions from the fourth and fifth positions in winning that tournament.

Those spots were filled by freshman Jim Markovitz and junior Harvin Groft.

"We saw the talent of Rohanna, Bricker and Foley kind of flourish in that event," Nye said. "We got some decent support from the four and five spot, too."

Penn State will need the same top-to-bottom contributions to keep pace with the field this week, which includes some of the nation's best teams.

Among them is Cal, the host school, which won the national championship just two years ago and is defending its title in this event.

The 54-hole tournament begins this morning.

The teams will play 36 holes today and 18 tomorrow. Today's tee times begin at 7:20 a.m. and tomorrow's play will begin at 8 a.m.

The par-71, 6,606-yard Meadow Club Golf Course is hosting the tournament for the fifth straight year.