The Cardinal wins the Gifford Collegiate by three strokes played at CordeValle in San Martin, CA with a solid final two days of play in the final tournament of the fall season. Playing against a strong field including #1 ranked Oklahoma State (which finished second), Stanford was led by junior All-American Sihwan Kim (see photo) who finished 2nd individually firing rounds of 68-68-71 for a 9-under 207 total. He was followed by sophomore David Chung who finished strong to tie for 3rd individually at 208 total with rounds of 73-68-67. David's final round was marked by a total of 7 birdies.
Freshman Andrew Yun tied for 18th at 2-under 214 with consistent play resulting in rounds of 71-71-72. Junior All-American Steve Ziegler was tied for 23rd at 1-under after rounds of 71-72-72, followed by freshman Andrew DeDecker's 3-over par tourney to tie for 41st after rounds of 71-71-77. Yet another freshman, Steven Kearney had a solid 2-under final round 70 to tie for 76th after rounds of 78-79-70.
Playing as an individual, junior Graham Brockington tied for 50th with rounds of 79-71-72.
PRE-TOURNAMENT SUMMARY
STANFORD, Calif. - The second-ranked Stanford men's golf team will close out its fall schedule at the Gifford Collegiate Championship, which is being played Nov 9-11 at CordeValle in San Martin, Calif.
The 14-team, 54-hole event continues through Wednesday at CordeValle.
The Cardinal, ranked second in the latest poll released by GolfStat, will look forward to a showdown with top-ranked Oklahoma State along with USC and host UCLA. Augusta State, Duke, Lamar, Long Beach State, Northwestern, Ohio State, Colorado, UNC Charlotte and Oklahoma round out the field.
Stanford head coach Conrad Ray is expected to start a lineup consisting of Sihwan Kim, Steve Ziegler, David Chung and 3 freshmen, Andrew Yun, Steve Kearney and Andre De Decker. Graham Brockington will be playing as an individual.
Kim is coming off a strong showing at the Isleworth Intercollegiate in Windemere, Fla., where he finished second in one of the strongest fields assembled on the fall schedule.
The fifth annual CordeValle Collegiate Golf Championship has been re-named the Gifford Collegiate Championship at CordeValle, to honor its long time sponsor and Bay Area philanthropist Jack Gifford. Gifford who passed away unexpectedly in January and his wife Rhodine have been long time supporters of collegiate sports and have been major contributors to UCLA's athletic programs.
Mrs. Rhodine Gifford will continue to support the Gifford Collegiate Golf Championship that her husband Jack founded. Stanford Golf Coach Conrad Ray, whose team won the 2006 event, noted "The Gifford Collegiate Championship is a great way to recognize an amazing man, Jack Gifford. Jack was a builder of young men. His interest in collegiate athletics was a true example of this. CordeValle is one of the best venues in the country, the field is as strong, and we here at Stanford are eager to compete. Jack would be proud and his legacy will live on through this amazing event."
CordeValle was recently named California's #1 golf destination by CondeNast Traveler's June 2007 Readers' Poll and was ranked the #13 golf resort in North America, the Caribbean and Atlantic, Ireland and Scotland. CordeValle was also ranked in the top three in the 2007 - 2008 issue of Zagat Guide's America's Top Golf Courses.
