Stanford finishes 5th in Las Vegas, Patrick Rodgers wins his 3rd

TPC Southern Highlands GC, Las Vegas, NV

Live scoring | TPC Southern Highlands | Golf Week Recap
11 of the nation's top 13 teams compete in Las Vegas
Cal 1, Texas 2, Alabama 3, New Mexico 5, UCLA 6,
USC 7, Duke 8, Florida 10, Geogia 11, Georgia Tech 12, Stanford 13

Final Results

Patrick Rodgers wins his 3rd title

Stanford struggled on its final round with a 12-over 300 team total and ended up 5th in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters played in Las Vegas after standing in 2nd place after rounds 1 & 2.  The Cardinal's three round total (286-290-300 876) was 20 strokes behind the winning Cal team.  Although the final round was a disappointment, the Cardinal still finished in front of 6 teams ranked ahead of them.

The highlight of the tournament for Stanford was Patrick Rodgers winning his 3rd tournament of the year in a 4-man playoff (66-73-73 212). He birdied his final hole to get into a playoff and birdied the first playoff hole to win.   Video of Patrick's final hole pitch | Video of Patrick's final hole birdie putt | Video of Patrick's winning playoff birdie.   

Cal won its 8th team title in by 13 strokes with an 856, 8-under par total that featured steady play by all five players who individually shot between 212 and 218.  For Stanford, Cameron Wilson had an excellent tournament finishing 5th on rounds of 71-71-73 215, 3 shots behind Patrick's winning total.  Andrew Yun tied for 31st with 73-74-76 223, David Boote tied for 48th with 76-72-78  226 and Steven Kearney ended at 237 with 83-75-79.

Stanford's final round scorecards are shown below.  Of note, both Patrick Rodgers and Cameron Wilson started their rounds with double bogies but still finished strongly.  Andrew Yun started with a triple bogie and played 1 over thereafter.

Final round scorecards - click to enlarge

The top 10 team standings can be found below:

Top 10 team scores - click to enlarge

Round 2 Results by gostanford.com

Stanford trails in second at even-par 576 on Saturday in the second round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters.

Patrick Rodgers

Tournament front-runner Patrick Rodgers shot one-over-par 73 after firing three early birdies over the front nine. With a 66 in the opening round, the sophomore heads into the last day at five under.

"The wind on the front nine made a few of the holes accessible," said Rodgers who has a two-stroke lead. "I tried to fight hard on the back but it was playing tough. I just made a few bogeys with quality shots that ended up in the wrong spots. I feel comfortable with my game, and if I can make good decisions tomorrow hopefully I can lead the comeback."  

California (285-280), the only team to shoot under par today, went eight under for the lead at 565, 11 strokes ahead of the Cardinal.

There was a battle of the Bay at the Southern Highlands Golf Club. Over the front nine, Stanford managed to lead the tournament a stroke ahead of California. Through the back, however, three California players shot under. The Cardinal (286-290) still produced a solid round at two over for the third low round of the day.

"We're up for tomorrow's competition and on this golf course 11 shots is very attainable," said The Knowles Family Director of Golf Conrad Ray. "To play the final pairing with two great teams is a neat opportunity for our guys and they'll rise to the challenge. They handled themselves well today and had a little bit of a slow finish on a course where the last few holes are pivotal."

Cameron Wilson led the team at 71 after making four consecutive birdies over the front nine. The junior is tied for fourth at 142 after a 71 in the opening round.

"I got some comfortable yardages and hit some precise short irons on holes six through nine," said Wilson. "All of my birdie putts were inside 10 feet."

Senior Andrew Yun (73-74) tied for 23rd at 147, while freshman David Boote (76-72) was not too far behind at 148, tying for 28th. Steve Kearney (83-75), a senior, finished 77th at 158.

The final round resumes on Sunday at 8 a.m. Stanford, paired with California and Alabama, tees off at 9:39 a.m. with nine minutes apart between groups.

"The weather should be better tomorrow, but hole locations will probably be challenging," said Wilson. "My game plan is to be very patient and accepting of all the breaks, good or bad."

Round 2 scorecards are shown below - click to enlarge:

Round 2 scorecards - click to enlarge

Round 1 Results by gostanford.com

Stanford is in second place at two-under-par 286, just one stroke behind California, on Friday in the first round of the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters.

Sophomore Patrick Rodgers led the tournament with a six-under-par 66 after opening with two consecutive birdies and firing three more to end the front nine at five under. Two more birdies and a bogey on the back nine left Rodgers with a two-stroke lead.

"On the front nine I just tried to take what the golf course gave me," said Rodgers who hit 12 fairways and had 26 putts. "The wind laid down a bit and the greens were receptive so the course offered a few early birdies. I hit a lot of quality shots, controlled the ball well and converted the putts to get it going early."

Under cold, windy, rainy conditions, where some sleet covered the ground and the tournament had to call a rain delay, only Stanford and California shot under par.

"We had a great team contribution all the way around and I'm confident Steve Kearney will be in there for us in the next few days," said The Knowles Family Director of Golf Conrad Ray. "We know there's a lot of golf left and we're going to continue to control the things we can control, picking good clubs and having good strategy on the course."

Another Cardinal front-runner was Cameron Wilson who shot a 71 to tie for seventh. The junior birdied the second, seventh, 10th and 16th holes for a solid performance.

Senior Andrew Yun tied for 19th at 73 after two early bogeys and a birdie over the front nine. Then he overcame a late bogey by making a birdie on his last hole for one over.

Rounding out the field was freshman David Boote who tied for 51st at 76 and Kearney at 83, tying for 78th. Boote, who was six under, managed to make an eagle on his last hole to finish four under.

The second round resumes on Saturday at 8 a.m. Tee times off the first and 10th holes.

"It is always nice to be in the lead individually but we are one behind in the team event," said Rodgers. "Team golf is nice because it can really clean your slate individually and you can go out and play aggressively in an effort to shoot the best team score possible."

Round 1 scorecards are shown below - click to enlarge:

Rnd 1 scoring - click to enlarge

Tournament Background by gostanford.com

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Stanford, up one spot to No. 13 (Golfweek), competes on Friday at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters, where all the teams rank in the top 40 and the majority of which are in the top 10.

The Cardinal is joined by top ranked California, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Alabama, No. 5 New Mexico, No. 6 UCLA, No. 7 USC, No. 8 Duke and No. 10 Florida.

Rounding out the 15-team field are No. 11 Georgia, No. 12 Georgia Tech, No. 16 Okalahoma State, No. 25 Texas A&M, No. 26 Oklahoma and No. 40 UNLV.

"The course and field at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters are two of the strongest we will see all year," said The Knowles Family Director of Golf Conrad Ray. "You need to have very good ball control on the course and typically even par is a very good score both individually and as a team. The event is a very good litmus test on where we are with things as we begin to prepare for the spring run toward NCAAs."

This 54-hole event consists of three rounds, from March 8-10, on the Southern Highlands Golf Club. Play will begin at 8 a.m. each day with tee times off the first and 10th holes. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com.

"Southern Highlands is a demanding golf course that tests all facets of the game," said sophomore Patrick Rodgers. "The greens are fast and firm, the golf course is long and the rough is difficult. As a team we need to be sharp mentally."

After a fifth-place finish at the Prestige at PGA West and a seventh-place finish at the Amer Ari Invitational, Ray starts the same five players in a shuffled order. The lineup is Rodgers, freshman David Boote, senior Steve Kearney, junior Cameron Wilsonand senior Andrew Yun.

"When we play in events that use the format of tee time starts off the first and tenth holes, there is some advantage to lead off with strength and finish with strength," said Ray. "We believe Andrew is primed to have another great event and we expect him to get out of the gates quickly. Patrick has been very steady and likes being the last guy on the course with a task at hand. Steve has been very steady for us as well the last few events, thus his spot in the middle of the lineup supports this effort."

Yun returns to competition after leading the team, along with Wilson, at a tied seventh-place finish at the Prestige.

"I feel like my game is really solid and I `m capable of contending for the title," said Yun. "To get to that next level, I will need to be more consistent. I have been making enough birdies, but the bogeys need to be reduced. I have been making small but significant errors that cost me one to two shots a round, which equates to three to six shots a tournament. So if I can just marginalize the errors, maybe I can head into the back nine Sunday in contention for the win."

"The course tempts you to take on risk many times throughout the round," said Rodgers. "We need to establish a game plan for the golf course and stay committed to it throughout the event."