FORT WORTH, Texas – Maverick McNealy earned his 11th career victory Tuesday, matching the Stanford record shared by PGA Tour professionals Tiger Woods and Patrick Rodgers.
In his 2016-17 season debut at the Nike Collegiate Invitational, McNealy (68-66-68) was the only player with three consecutive rounds under par at Colonial Country Club, two shots better than Oregon's Wyndham Clark. He helped the Cardinal tie for sixth with USC among the 15-team field.
"The Nike Collegiate Invitational was a great way to open the season," said Conrad Ray, Stanford's Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf. "The guys learned a lot about their games on a championship track.
"Hats off to Maverick on his 11th individual win, which puts him up there with the all-time greats. Hopefully, there are more wins to come."
McNealy, the world's top-ranked amateur, earned the victory against a stacked field. Three of the teams who reached the semifinals of the 2016 NCAA Championships competed in the event, including defending national champion Oregon and runner-up Texas.
McNealy used 14 birdies against six bogeys for his 8-under 202. He was 2-under through 18 holes, and then went 4-under through his next 13, en route to posting a second-round 66. That score lifted him eight spots to share the individual lead heading into the final circuit.
In his final round, McNealy birdied four holes on the front nine while bogeying a pair. He finished with nine straight pars.
Stanford (+20) went 285-280-294 through 54 holes on the par-70 layout. Franklin Huang (70-72-74) tied for 28th, Brandon Wu (70-72-74) tied for 30th, Bradley Knox (75-72-79) tied for 57th and Henry Shimp (80-75-78) was 73rd in his collegiate debut.
The Cardinal resumes the fall portion of its season Oct. 21-23 at the United States Collegiate Championship in Alpharetta, Georgia.
