April 27, 2011
STANFORD, Calif. - Head coach Conrad Ray is fully aware it has been 16 years since Stanford last claimed the Pac-10 Men's Golf Championship. So is his team, even though most of them were still swinging plastic clubs the last time the Cardinal captured the conference title in 1994.
"For all of the success we've had here in recent years, we'd certainly like to add this championship to our trophy case," said Ray.
The Cardinal will begin its quest for the elusive title Friday on its home course. Teams will play 36 holes on Friday beginning at 8 a.m. and then 18 holes on Saturday and Sunday. The field will tee off on holes Nos. 1 and 10 each day.
"We are really excited to be able to play host to this event on this great golf course," said Ray. "It only comes around once every 10 years, so it's an excellent opportunity to showcase Stanford Golf Course, which is in the best condition I've ever seen as a player or coach."
The format of the Pac-10 Championships is unique, as the field will play 72 holes with six players on each team accounting for five scores. In addition to local course knowledge, Ray feels confident the depth of his squad will be an asset this weekend.
"The fact that we are playing on our home course lends itself to having six guys playing with the mentality that they can win the golf tournament," he said. "With the six, count five format, you really need to rely on the depth of your team. I've felt good about our depth one through 10 all season."
Ray expects to start a lineup consisting of sophomore Steven Kearney and freshman Cameron Wilson.
Yun, who is ranked as the No. 2 player in the country by Golfweek, enters the tournament with six top-five finishes this season, including his first collegiate victory at The Prestige at PGA West. He also finished tied for second at the Western Intercollegiate his last time out.
"We'd all like to see Andrew continue his excellent form this weekend," said Ray. "He's established himself as one of the premier players in the country."
The Cardinal is also counting heavily on Chung, who played in the Masters earlier this month as the U.S. Amateur runner-up, but has just one top-10 finish this season.
"David is eager to get out there," said Ray. "He's worked through some scheduling challenges that comes with playing in the Masters and is feeling really good about his game right now."
Ziegler and Brockington both have Pac-10 Championship experience, while Kearney and Wilson will be making their conference debuts.
"We definitely need production across the board, especially since we are playing six guys," said Ray. "In our strong tournaments this season, we've had multiple guys in the hunt. On the other side, we've had our tournaments where only one or two guys play well and the rest of the team struggles."
While ending a 16-year title drought remains the ultimate goal, Ray has also stressed to his team the importance of building up some momentum with NCAA Regional play rapidly approaching.
"To be able to call yourself the champion of the Pac-10 Conference is a great accomplishment and motivation in of itself," said Ray. "But we also realize what is ahead of us. This weekend would be a great time to start building some momentum."
Pac-10 Championship Notes
Five of the 10 teams in the field are ranked in the Top-20 by Golfweek... UCLA is ranked No. 3 in the nation while California (No. 18), Stanford (No. 20), USC (No. 21) and Oregon (No. 22) also hold down spots in the Top-20...Yun is ranked No. 2 among individuals by Golfweek, behind Oklahoma State's Peter Uihlien...UCLA freshman Patrick Cantlay, who has claimed three individual titles this season, is ranked third...Washington has captured the team title each of the last two seasons... USC has won the most Pac-10 team titles (18), followed by Arizona State with 12...Stanford has claimed seven titles overall...Washington has captured the team title on six occasions, followed by UCLA (5), Arizona (3) and Oregon (2)...Cal, Oregon State and Washington State have yet to win the team title... former Pac-10 individual champions include Dave Stockton (USC; 1963), Peter Jacobsen (Oregon; 1974), Scott Simpson (USC; 1975-76), Dan Forsman (Arizona State; 1981), Corey Pavin (UCLA; 1982), Duffy Waldorf (UCLA; 1985), Phil Mickelson (Arizona State; 1990), Jason Gore (Arizona; 1993-94), Tiger Woods (Stanford; 1996), Paul Casey (Arizona State; 1998-2000) and Ricky Barnes (Arizona; 2001)...Jim Seki, who claimed the individual title in 2002 in Corvallis, Ore., was the last Stanford player to capture Pac-10 medalist honors... this year marks the first time since 2001 and ninth time overall Stanford Golf Course has played host to the event...in 2001, Ricky Barnes of Arizona won the individual title with a 72 hole score of 268 (-16) after rounds of 65-66-69-68, while USC captured the team title...admission to the event is free...limited parking is available near the clubhouse...parking is also available near the West Tennis Courts and Stanford Driving Range.