Thursday, May 25, 2017

Stanford competes in the NCAA Championship at Rich Harvest Farms

The 30-team field - click to enlarge
Round 3 Results:
SUGAR GROVE, Ill. - The careers of two of the finest student-athletes to play for the Stanford men's golf program came to a close Sunday after the third round of the NCAA Championships.

Seniors Maverick McNealy and Viraat Badhwar, who represented Stanford with class on and off the course, sank their final putts in a Cardinal uniform and tipped their caps to the crowd on the 18th green at Rich Harvest Farms. The pair helped lead Stanford to three Pac-12 tournament titles and four NCAA appearances over the past four seasons.

McNealy, this year's Ben Hogan Award winner who leaves Stanford tied for the program record with 11 career wins, posted rounds of 76-71-74 to finish tied for 76th at 5-over on the par-72 track. His final 18 holes included four birdies.

Badhwar (73-73-74) tied for 71st at 4-over and rolled in an eight-footer for birdie on his final hole.

Fourth-seeded Stanford (293-287-299) missed out on the 15-team cut and a chance to advance to Monday's final round of stroke play by eight shots. The Cardinal placed 20th and was 15-over through 54 holes of play.

"We fought hard and we were in the mix today," said Conrad Ray, Stanford's Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf. "We got off to a decent start, but we hit it into some bad spots when the wind got tough out there.

"Maverick and Viraat have been amazing role models and a pleasure to coach. They're student-athletes through and through, and they've definitely left their marks on our program."


Golfweek.com posted an excellent wrap up with comments from McNealy and Coach Ray:
“Disappointing round, disappointing finish,” said McNealy, whose third-round, 2-over 74 put the finishing touches on a 5-over performance for the week. (Stanford finishes at 15 over, eight back of UCF for the final team spot in Monday’s final round of stroke play.)
“… I couldn’t have imagined a better four years. Very mixed emotions. I’m sad it’s all over, but excited for whatever comes next.”
McNealy, 21, has a bright future in which ever route he chooses to take: pro golf or the business world. The decision hasn’t been made yet, but McNealy says he’s getting closer. For now, he’ll take a couple of days off before returning to practice. He’ll play in the Palmer Cup next month before teeing it up in the U.S. Open at Erin Hills.
“I’m right back into practicing, and need to work on the putting and get that going in the right direction,” said McNealy, who said he lost six shots on the greens the first two rounds. “I’m hitting it great. I think my game is trending in the right direction. This was really my first setback in the last couple of months, based on how my game is going.
“… I want to play again. I want more reps. I want to put some good tournaments together and hit some good shots when I need to, and I think that will build on itself.”
“We had a great team this year,” Ray said. “Obviously at the NCAAs, you’ve got to bring it when it really matters under the bright lights, and our guys didn’t have their best stuff this week.
“… I do think the nature of the guys we have, they’re really analytical, really bright, really smart guys, they work hard, and I think that sometimes there’s a little bit of going down the double-black diamond at NCAAs, and you’ve got to kind of let it go and not control it so much.”
Stanford's highest finisher was Isaiah Salinda, who made most of his NCAA debut. Salinda (71-71-74) tied for 44th, and followed a double-bogey on 17 with a 55-foot birdie putt on the 18th to put the finishing touches on his sophomore season.

Franklin Huang (74-73-77) was 8-over and tied for 104th. Brandon Wu (75-72-81) was 12-over for the tournament and tied for 125th.

Stanford finished the season with two team wins, including a share of the title at the NCAA Regional Championships contested at Stanford Golf Course. 


Round 3 team results are shown below - click on image to enlarge.
Round three Team results - click on image to enlarge

Round Two Results:
The team totals through two rounds are shown below - click on the image to enlarge.
Team standings are two rounds - click to enlarge
Stanford faces an uphill climb to move on to match play (top 8 teams) as it's tied for 16th, 18 strokes behind leading UNLV and 12 strokes behind the top 8 teams.  To make the 54-hole cut Stanford needs to move into the top 15 teams.

After arriving at the course at 4:30 a.m. local time to finish its first round, the Cardinal turned right back around and grinded out another 18.

"I'm happy our guys hung in there," said Conrad Ray, Stanford's Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf. "It was tough sledding this morning with the early wakeup call. We had to play the last four holes on the course, which have been some of the toughest for the field.

"Our guys didn't give up, and I was proud of them for that."


The morning conditions made for long and wet rough, which gave the Cardinal a touch of trouble while completing its first round.

Stanford started its second round on the back nine, posting bogey or worse on 14 occasions between the five competing student-athletes. The final nine holes were nearly flawless, with seven birdies countered by only bogey.


Leading the way with solid play for the Cardinal at 2-under par is Isaiah Salinda  (71-71 142 T28) followed by Viraat Badhwar  at 2-over par (73-73 146 T75.  The season's top three players all are tied for 80th position  at 3-over par as Maverick McNealy shot 76-71 147, Franklin Huang shot 74-73 147 and Brandon Wu shot 75-72 147.

The individual leader from Texas is Scottie Sheffler at 8-under par on rounds of 68-68 136.

The following weather forecast for round three calls for blustery conditions and possible thunderstorms Sunday morning - Partly to mostly cloudy skies with scattered thunderstorms in the morning. High near 75F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 60%.

Round One Results (partial)
The course conditions were less than ideal at Rich Harvest Farms when the Stanford men's golf team opened the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championships on Friday. Battling an extended weather delay and steady drizzles, Stanford was unable to complete its first round.

With all five student-athletes still yet to play the final few holes, Stanford is tied for 17th with Arizona State at 2-over.

Clubhouse leader Vanderbilt is 8-under.

Before play was suspended due to darkness, a pair of delays totaled three hours and one minute, resulting in half the field being unable to complete their opening round.

Viraat Badhwar and Isaiah Salinda are tied for 41st at even-par through 16 holes. Brandon Wu is 1-over through 16 and Franklin Huang is 1-over through 15. Wu birdied two of his final three holes before play was stalled.

Maverick McNealy is 3-over through 14 holes.

Auburn posted the low round of the day among the morning wave of 15 teams, recording a 6-under 282. Ole Miss and Alabama are tied for the second-best round of the morning as the Rebels and Crimson Tide each posted a 1-under 287.

Braden Thornberry of Ole Miss is the leader in the clubhouse after carding a 6-under 66. Thornberry, who recorded six birdies and no bogies in his round, tied the course collegiate record set by Zach Seabolt of Winthrop in the first round of the 2014 Northern Intercollegiate and Thomas Detry of Illinois in the second round of the 2015 Northern Intercollegiate.

First-round play will resume Saturday morning at 4:30 a.m. PT, followed by second-round play beginning at 5:15 a.m.


Background
Stanford sends out the following players to compete in the NCAA Championship - Maverick McNealy, Franklin Huang, Brandon Wu, Isaiah Salinda and Viraat Badhwar.

Fourth-seeded Stanford will make its fourth straight appearance at the NCAA Men's Golf Championships when it tees off at Rich Harvest Farms on Friday. The Cardinal enters the tournament after winning the NCAA Stanford Regional (May 15-17) at Stanford Golf Course.

On Wednesday, the top-ranked Stanford women’s golf team was eliminated in the semifinals of match play on the same course.
“It’s fun to watch the girls, cheer them on and imagine being in that position a week from now,” Ray said on Tuesday. “But there’s a lot of golf that needs to go on — and good golf, that is — between now and then.”
McNealy played at Rich Harvest Farms in the 2015 Palmer Cup, helping a collection of American college golfers defeat their European counterparts.
“It’s very challenging,” McNealy said of the links course. “When we played there, the rough was really thick. You need to hit the fairways. There’s some incredibly tight tee shots and it seems like there’s such a variety in terms of the type of hole that you get, that it tests all parts of your game.”
“I think it’s just all about hitting good golf shots,” Ray said. “It is a ball striker’s course. You have to manage your golf ball well and keep it out of the rough. Avoid big numbers, which I think are lurking if you hit the tee ball off line. So I think it’s really more about just strategy and management.”
* The Cardinal has won eight NCAA titles, the most recent earned in 2007.

* Conrad Ray, the Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf, is taking his team to its 10th appearance in the NCAA Championships in 13 years at the helm.

The Format
* Finals play consists of three days of stroke play from May 26-28, after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will be determined. That is followed by a final day of 18 holes of stroke play on May 29 to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play, as well as the 72-hole individual champion. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format that will consist of quarterfinals and semifinals conducted May 30, followed by finals on May 31.

The Field
* This season's field includes 30 teams and six individuals. USC is the top-seeded team, followed by Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt and Stanford. Four Pac-12 teams are competing including Oregon and ASU.

The Host
* Northern Illinois will serve as the host school for the NCAA Championships, with the event being contested at Rich Harvest Farms.

The Course
* Jerry and Betty Rich's dream began to develop when their amassed farms, a 1,820-acre showcase of nature and agriculture, gave way to one golf hole and a practice area. Then three holes. Then six. After interviewing five architects, Jerry discovered he could draw the plans himself -- and did. He even hired a construction company that had never before built a golf course. Though influenced by Augusta National and the encouragement of friends Bob Murphy and Sam Snead, Jerry also took inspiration from Dick Wilson's Pine Tree in Florida. In 1987, Jerry began the development of Rich Harvest Farms, and 10 years later, all 18 holes were completed.

* The course plays through wooded hillsides and open fields, making use of the natural streams and wetlands. Maintained natural areas and over 100 bunkers add strategic value and visual appeal. Rich
Harvest Farms offers some of the country's most challenging and unique golf holes. It was rated fifth-best new private golf course by Golf Digest in 1997 and now is consistently ranked in Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses. 

Saturday, May 13, 2017

Stanford hosts NCAA Regional as a #1 Seed


23 team field - click to enlarge
Final Results:
STANFORD, Calif. - Top-seeded Stanford shared the NCAA Men’s Golf Stanford Regional Championships crown with Baylor, as the 54-hole event concluded Wednesday at Stanford Golf Course.

With the win, the Cardinal advances to the NCAA Championships (May 26-31) in Sugar Grove, Illinois.

Stanford (271-278-274) has won three consecutive regional crowns and five overall in the program’s history.

“It was good to defend our home turf and pick up another win,” said Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf Conrad Ray, who now had led his team to a 10th appearance in the NCAA Championships in 13 years at the helm. “Our goal was to win the day, and we did it by posting the low team score. We had a lot of solid contributions across the board, and Maverick (McNealy) played solid for us. We’ve all got some added motivation heading into the NCAA Championships.”
The Cardinal trailed Baylor by seven strokes heading into the final round of the three-day event, and went 6-under to match the Bears’ final 17-under total.

Pepperdine (-5), Oklahoma (-3) and North Carolina (+3) also advanced to the NCAA Championships. Individual Travis Trace (-2) of North Florida also earned bid to the national finale.

Oklahoma’s Brad Dalke (-12) took home medalist honors, with Baylor’s Cooper Dossey (-9) claiming second. Maverick McNealy (-8) was third in his final home appearance.  McNealy shot an even par 70 (65-67-70 202 3rd) on his final round despite 3 double bogies which were offset by 4 birdies  and an eagle on the day.

Franklin Huang (67-71-68) and Brandon Wu (70-71-65) tied for fourth at 4-under. Wu’s 65, which included only one bogey, was the best score on the day by any player.

Viraat Badhwar (70-69-71) tied for 12th at even-par and Isaiah Salinda (69-71-72) was 2-over for 20th.

Stanford has won eight national titles and twice been the NCAA runner-up. The Cardinal will be playing for a chance at its first title since 2007.

Final results are shown below - click on image to enlarge.
Top 10 team and individual scoring - click to enlarge
Round Two Results:
STANFORD, Calif. – Baylor grabbed the lead Tuesday with a 15-under-par 265 Tuesday at Stanford Golf Course, matching the single-round team record at the NCAA Stanford Regional Championships. The Bears jumped ahead of top-seeded Stanford, as the Cardinal went 2-under beneath overcast skies.

The Bears equaled the mark set by San Diego State, when the Aztecs combined for a 265 in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Stanford Regional.

Baylor (277-265) leads the 13-team field at 18-under, seven strokes ahead of the host Cardinal (271-278). Pepperdine is 5-under and Oklahoma is 3-under.  The top ten teams are shown below - click on image to enlarge.  The low 5 teams advance to the NCAA Championship

Top 10 teams after round 2
The three-day event at Stanford Golf Course concludes Wednesday with Stanford starting on the first tee at 9:15 a.m.

Maverick McNealy paced Stanford for the second straight round, firing a 3-under 67. He was 3-under until a double-bogey on the par-3 eighth, and recovered by going 2-under on the back nine.

McNealy, 8-under overall, trails only clubhouse leader Brad Dalke of Oklahoma for medalist honors. Dalke (-11) followed Monday’s round of 65 with a 64, as the latter included a pair of bogeys.

Dalke’s round was bettered by Georgia Tech’s Luke Schniederjans, whose 62 was the lowest individual round ever at an NCAA Regional event contested on Stanford’s home course. Both San Diego State’s J.J. Spaun (2012) and BYU’s Oscar Alvarez (2005) shot 63 during regional action on The Farm.

Schniederjans, the younger brother of PGA Tour professional, Ollie, also claimed the lowest score during a collegiate competition at Stanford Golf Course since Cardinal legend Patrick Rodgers’ 63 recorded during The Goodwin in 2014.

Another Cardinal to the Schniederjan family: Cameron Wilson won the 2014 NCAA individual title when he birdied the third hole of a playoff against Ollie.

Still standing is the Stanford Golf Course record 59 set by Viraat Badhwar in 2015. Badhwar moved into 13th place Tuesday with a 1-under 69. He eagled the par-5 seventh by starting with a high draw over the tree-lined left side of the fairway, using a hot bounce for a 160-yard approach shot. He put his 9-iron to 11 feet and drained the birdie putt.

The eagle resulted in a five-shot swing from Badhwar’s triple-bogey on the same hole one round prior.

Franklin Huang (t-8th), Isaiah Salinda (t-17th) and Brandon Wu (t-27th) each finished their second round with a 1-over 71.


Round One Results:
STANFORD, Calif. – Baylor grabbed the lead Tuesday with a 15-under-par 265 Tuesday at Stanford Golf Course, matching the single-round team record at the NCAA Stanford Regional Championships. The Bears jumped ahead of top-seeded Stanford, as the Cardinal went 2-under beneath overcast skies.

The Bears equaled the mark set by San Diego State, when the Aztecs combined for a 265 in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Stanford Regional.

Baylor (277-265) leads the 13-team field at 18-under, seven strokes ahead of the host Cardinal (271-278). Pepperdine is 5-under and Oklahoma is 3-under.

The three-day event at Stanford Golf Course concludes Wednesday as Stanford will tee off starting on hole #1 at 9:15 a.m.

Maverick McNealy paced Stanford for the second straight round, firing a 3-under 67. He was 3-under until a double-bogey on the par-3 eighth, and recovered by going 2-under on the back nine.

McNealy, 8-under overall, trails only clubhouse leader Brad Dalke of Oklahoma for medalist honors. Dalke (-11) followed Monday’s round of 65 with a 64, as the latter included a pair of bogeys.

Dalke’s round was bettered by Georgia Tech’s Luke Schniederjans, whose 62 was the lowest individual round ever at an NCAA Regional event contested on Stanford’s home course. Both San Diego State’s J.J. Spaun (2012) and BYU’s Oscar Alvarez (2005) shot 63 during regional action on The Farm.

Schniederjans, the younger brother of PGA Tour professional, Ollie, also claimed the lowest score during a collegiate competition at Stanford Golf Course since Cardinal legend Patrick Rodgers’ 63 recorded during The Goodwin in 2014.

Another Cardinal to the Schniederjan family: Cameron Wilson won the 2014 NCAA individual title when he birdied the third hole of a playoff against Ollie.

Still standing is the Stanford Golf Course record 59 set by Viraat Badhwar in 2015. Badhwar moved into 13th place Tuesday with a 1-under 69. He eagled the par-5 seventh by starting with a high draw over the tree-lined left side of the fairway, using a hot bounce for a 160-yard approach shot. He put his 9-iron to 11 feet and drained the birdie putt.

The eagle resulted in a five-shot swing from Badhwar’s triple-bogey on the same hole one round prior.

Franklin Huang (t-8th), Isaiah Salinda (t-17th) and Brandon Wu (t-27th) each finished their second round with a 1-over 71.


Round One Results
STANFORD, Calif. - On the opening day of its 19th consecutive NCAA Men's Golf Regional Championships appearance, No. 8 Stanford blew ahead of the 13-team field by registering an astounding 9-under-par 271. Sitting six strokes better than second-place Baylor, the Cardinal received rounds of even-par or better from each of its five student-athletes.

The Cardinal is seeking a fifth regional title, and third in as many seasons, while playing host to the event at Stanford Golf Course. The par-70 course is playing at 6,727 yards for the NCAA Regional Championships.

The Cardinal won its last outing on its home course -- The Goodwin -- contested this past April.

"We're excited about the good start today, and tomorrow should prove to be a good test," said Conrad Ray, Stanford's Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf. "The conditions got tougher as the day went on -- the greens got firmer and the wind came up. But we putted well on the back nine and made a lot of birdies, and hopefully we can keep it rolling."

Monday's round featured a 5-under 65 from All-American Maverick McNealy, who grew up playing the course while being raised in nearby Portola Valley. McNealy's score was matched by Oklahoma's Brad Dalke to lead the medalist race.

With 11 career wins under his belt and chasing a school-record 12th, the standout round could be a welcoming sign of what's to come for McNealy.

"I hit the ball well today," McNealy said. "I haven't hit the ball this well since this same time during my sophomore year."

His round picked up momentum on the 483-yard, par-4 second. After hitting his drive left on the first hole and lipping out a birdie putt, his drive on the second found the middle of the fairway and he lofted a soft 5-iron to five feet. He buried the putt for the first of four birdies on the front nine. McNealy finished his round with birdies on three of the final five holes, and his seven birdies were the most of any player on the day.

Franklin Huang (-3) was two strokes behind McNealy and tied for third. Four birdies during a six-hole stretch in the middle of his round helped make him one of three Cardinal to finish in the top 10.

Huang's drive on the 351-yard, par-4 11th rested 50 yards short of the green. A nippy pitch had some hook spin to settle seven feet from the pin, which he converted into a birdie. Huang was the only Cardinal to birdie the par-4 12th.

Isaiah Salinda, tied for 10th, had 228 yards into the green on the 539-yard, par-5 seventh. He hit a 3-iron to 25 feet and made the putt to get his round going. He birdied 11 and 14, and had an eagle chance on 16 that resulted in a tap-in birdie. Salinda carded a 1-under 69.

Tied for 17th, Brandon Wu was his steady self with an even-par 70. Also tied for 17th at even-par is Viraat Badhwar, whose first birdie on the par-4 sixth came with an added surprise. His mother, who traveled to Stanford from India, arrived in time to see his tee shot on the sixth tee.

"That was the first time I had seen my mom in five months, which was cool," Badhwar said. "That got me going."


Background
NCAA Regional held at the Stanford Golf Course, May 15-17, 2017
Cardinal Contingent • Maverick McNealy, Franklin Huang, Brandon Wu, Isaiah Salinda, Viraat Badhwar

The Lowdown
• No. 8 Stanford plays host to the NCAA Stanford Regional Championships after finishing second in the Pac-12 Championships. The Cardinal won its last outing on its home course -- The Goodwin -- contested this past April.

• The regional bid is the 19th consecutive for the Cardinal, and Stanford has advanced to the NCAA Championships in nine of the past 12 seasons.

• Stanford seeks the fifth regional title in program history. Stanford won the regional title in 1996, 2010, 2015 and 2016

• Stanford has won eight national titles and twice been the NCAA runner-up. The Cardinal will be playing for a chance at its first title since 2007.

The Field
• Stanford, the region’s No. 1 seed, will welcome Baylor, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, Pepperdine, North Carolina, North Florida, BYU, Houston, Ohio State, UC Santa Barbara, Sacramento State and South Dakota State. Individuals include Collin Morikawa (Cal), Hayden Shieh (Santa Clara), David Kim (UC Irvine), Justin Doeden (Minnesota), Andres Gonzalez (Long Beach State), Felix Mory (Cal State Northridge), Fidel Concepcion (Southern Utah), Grant Booth (Nevada), Brian Humphreys (Boise State) and Mike Graboyes (Cornell).

The Course
• Located in the foothills overlooking Stanford’s campus, Stanford University Golf Course is consistently rated as one of the finest courses in the world.
• The par-70 course will play at 6,727 yards for the NCAA Stanford Regional Championships.

• Designed in 1930 by renowned architects William Bell and George Thomas, the course is steeped in tradition. Throughout the years, Stanford has hosted many intercollegiate and non-collegiate events, including the Stanford Intercollegiate, Peg Barnard Intercollegiate, Pac-10 Championships, NCAA Regional Championships, NCAA Women’s Championship, USGA Junior Amateur Qualifying, U.S. Open Qualifying and The Gathering at the Farm, a former Senior PGA Tour event.
• Stanford University Golf Course seen many influential golfers on its grounds throughout the years. Such notables include Tom Watson, Tiger Woods, Bob Rosburg, Notah Begay III, Casey Martin and former USGA presidents Sandy Tatum, Grant Spaeth and Walter Driver.

The Format
• The regional tournament will feature 54 holes of play (18 on Monday, 18 on Tuesday, 18 on Wednesday). The low five teams and low three individuals not on those teams will advance to the NCAA Championships at Rich Harvest Farms (May 26-31) in Sugar Grove, Illinois.