SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Hours before The Masters champion was cloaked with a green blazer, Cameron Wilson donned the blue letter jacket awarded to the Western Intercollegiate champion after winning the event by two strokes over teammate Patrick Rodgers.
Wilson’s second win on the season propelled No. 6 Stanford (-10) to the team title Sunday by 16 strokes over second-place No. 17 Washington. No. 3 Cal (+8) was third and San Diego State (+15) was fourth among the 14-team field.
The lefty Wilson (67-67-69) was 7-under through three rounds at the par-70 track designed by Alister MacKenzie, the mastermind behind the famed layout of Augusta National Club. Rodgers (65-69-71) took silver honors with a 5-under and Maverick McNealy (71-69-67) tied for sixth.
Western Intercollegiate champion Cameron Wilson chats with Golfweek. pic.twitter.com/pHwAQdA4ts
— Stanford Men's Golf (@StanfordMGolf) April 13, 2014
“It was kind of bizarre battling for the title with one of my teammates,” Wilson said. “Usually, I’m rooting for Patrick so hard and I still found myself rooting for him all day. It was an unusual situation with Patrick being one of my good friends and someone who I have so much respect for. He told me after the round how happy he was for me and how proud he was of my round today.”
Wilson ended his final regular season as a Cardinal with birdies on the final two holes for a come-from-behind win over Rogers, who was riding a three-tournament winning streak heading into the finale at Pasatiempo Golf Club.
“It was a really up and down round, and I made some fortunate pars on the first couple of holes,” said Wilson, who hooked his first two tee shots to opposite fairways. “I played steady for the next 10 or 11 holes and missed a few birdie looks inside 10 feet.”
Wilson dropped a couple iron shots on 14 and 15, three-putting each of those holes. A 10-foot downhill putt on the three-tiered 16th green saved par from the back rough, but his next two holes would seal the deal.
A chip-in on 17 for birdie came before draining a 14-footer to birdie the par-3 18th.
“The 17th was the turning point. I knew I had to chip that in to have a chance to win,” Wilson said.
Rodgers nearly sank his birdie putt on 17 to even things heading into the final hole. Rodgers bogeyed three of his last four holes.
Stanford’s 10-under 1,040 (347-349-344) was the tournament’s lowest since adopting the 6-count-5 scoring format in 2010. The Cardinal earned its fourth win on the season and third this spring, also hoisting the hardware in its last outing -- The Goodwin -- at Stanford Golf Course.
The team title was the ninth for Stanford at the Western Intercollegiate, which is now in its 68th season, tying it for second all-time with Fresno State.
A few last-minute tips and some corn nuts to get the day started. pic.twitter.com/2JSVdTmFw8
— ByTheMinStanfordGolf (@ByTheMinSMGolf) April 13, 2014
McNealy matched for a team-low 67 Sunday and was bogey-free until the 18th. Jim Liu (82-73-67) went out at 4-under after an eagle on the par-5 ninth. He was 1-over on the back to finish at 3-under.
David Boote (70-71-70) was even-par at 70 to share 15th-place and Viraat Badhwar (74-75-73) tied for 60th.
The Cardinal now turns its attention to the Pac-12 Conference Championships (April 25-27) in Marana, Ariz.
| Finish | Team • Player | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
| 1 | Stanford (-10) | 347 | 349 | 344 | 1,040 |
| 1 | Cameron Wilson (-7) | 67 | 67 | 69 | 203 |
| 2 | Patrick Rodgers (-5) | 65 | 69 | 71 | 205 |
| T6 | Maverick McNealy (-3) | 71 | 69 | 67 | 207 |
| T15 | David Boote (+1) | 70 | 71 | 70 | 211 |
| T60 | Jim Liu (+12) | 82 | 73 | 67 | 222 |
| T60 | Viraat Badhwar (+12) | 74 | 75 | 73 | 222 |
| -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| T33 | Dominick Francks (+5) | 70 | 71 | 74 | 215 |
| T68 | Patrick Grimes (+13) | 79 | 72 | 72 | 223 |