STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford punctuated a wire-to-wire lead by holding off No. 1 USC to claim the team title Saturday at The Goodwin, its first win on the season and 15th overall in the 49th edition of the event.
The Cardinal men's golf team took a 1-shot lead into the final round of the 54-hole tournament at Stanford Golf Course, and received red scores from Franklin Huang, Viraat Badhwar and Isaiah Salinda to go 7-under Saturday.
Stanford (276-288-273) was 3-under overall, nine shots better than second-place USC (+6). UNLV (+10) took third and Oregon (+14) was fourth.
Medalist honors went to BYU's Rhett Rasmussen (-4).
"It was great to pick up the first win of the year against the No. 1 team in the country and a field that included a lot of really good teams," said Conrad Ray, Stanford's Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf. "More than anything, the guys played the course well. They used some of their home course knowledge to their advantage, and controlled the golf ball pretty well today. We avoided some of the bigger numbers that other teams were fighting.
"Big props to superintendent Ken Williams and his staff for getting this course in world-class shape. It was really hard and fast, and that helped our cause."
The victory came after seven top-10 finishes in as many events this season.
"We've been knocking on the door a lot this year and continued to work hard," said Ray. "To get some reward for that hard work will hopefully give us momentum heading into the final stretch of the season."
Huang (67-74-66) was on fire in the final round, recording a 4-under 66 to place second at 3-under. He moved up seven spots Saturday, thanks largely to four birdies on a five-hole stretch in the middle of his round.
Maverick McNealy (67-71-72), who took seventh, had an up-and-down front nine that included four birdies and three bogeys. He turned at 1-under, and went 3-over on the back for a 72. He was even-par for the tournament.
Badhwar (73-71-67) capped off one of his better showings this season with a 3-under 67, including an 18-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. He tied for eighth.
"It usually takes me three rounds to get going," Badhwar chided.
Brandon Wu (69-72-75) was 25th at 6-over for the tournament. Salinda (74-76-68) had six birdies Saturday to card a 2-under, and placed 36th overall with an 8-over.
Stanford returns to action April 8-9 at the Western Intercollegiate in Santa Cruz, California.
Originally named the United States Intercollegiate, Stanford's home tournament was renamed The Goodwin prior to the 2014 edition in honor of former Cardinal head coach Wally Goodwin. Goodwin coached at Stanford from 1987-2000. His tenure was highlighted with the 1994 national title. Goodwin was named national coach of the year in 1992 and 1994.