STANFORD, Calif. - It was another memorable season for the Stanford men’s golf team in 2014-15, highlighted by back-to-back Pac-12 Conference titles for the first time in program history.
For the second consecutive season, the Cardinal produced the NCAA Division I Player of the Year, as sophomore Maverick McNealy followed in the footsteps of current PGA Tour player Patrick Rodgers by capturing the 2015 Jack Nicklaus Award and the Haskins Award, and was selected Pac-12 Player of the Year.
McNealy’s record-breaking season saw him claim medalist honors a nation-best six times. He set a single-season school record by averaging an NCAA-best 69.05 per round. It represents the second-lowest scoring average in NCAA Division I history behind Bill Haas of Wake Forest, who averaged 68.93 in the 2004.
McNealy won the NCAA Chapel Hill Regional, Southwestern Intercollegiate, Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational, The Prestige at PGA West, The Goodwin and the Pac-12 Championship. In the latter, he tied a school record by shooting a bogey-free final-round 61 at Palouse Ridge Golf Course in Pullman, Washington, to help Stanford overcome a nine-stroke deficit and win by 14 over runner-up Oregon.
McNealy pulled away for a 10-shot individual victory, with his 61 matching the previous best Cardinal round shared by Tiger Woods and Cameron Wilson. He also established a Pac-12 scoring record of 262, bettering the old mark of 265 set by Paul Casey of Arizona State in 1999 and 2000.
Stanford began the season by winning the 12-team Southwestern Intercollegiate at North Country Club in Westlake Village, California. It marked the third consecutive regular-season win for the Cardinal dating back to 2014.
Conrad Ray, the Knowles Family Director of Men’s Golf, led his program to 11 top-10 finishes in 13 events. The Cardinal tied for 22nd at the NCAA Championships.
Five team members made the Pac-12 All-Academic Team, including Dominick Francks (atmosphere and energy), McNealy (management science and engineering), David Boote (human biology), Patrick Grimes (psychology) and Viraat Badhwar (undeclared).
Team awards were presented to McNealy (MVP), Grimes (Tradition and Leadership), Jeffrey Swegle (Most Improved), Francks (Spooney/Never Give Up) and to Swegle and Franklin Huang (Lowest Freshman Average - 72.36).