NCAA Championships
Friday-Wednesday, May 26-May 31
Rich Harvest Farms (Par 72, 7,300 yards)
Sugar Grove, Illinois
Live Results • GoStanford.com
Television • Golf Channel (May 29-31)
Cardinal Contingent • Maverick McNealy, Franklin Huang, Brandon Wu, Isaiah Salinda and Viraat Badhwar
The Lowdown
• Fourth-seeded Stanford will make its fourth straight appearance at the NCAA Men's Golf Championships when it tees off at Rich Harvest Farms on Friday. The Cardinal enters the tournament after winning the NCAA Stanford Regional (May 15-17) at Stanford Golf Course.
• The Cardinal has won eight NCAA titles, the most recent earned in 2007.
• Conrad Ray, the Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf, is taking his team to its 10th appearance in the NCAA Championships in 12 years at the helm.
The Format
• Finals play consists of three days of stroke play from May 26-28, after which the top 15 teams and nine individuals not on an advancing team will be determined. That is followed by a final day of 18 holes of stroke play on May 29 to determine the top eight teams that will advance to match play, as well as the 72-hole individual champion. The team national champion will be determined by a match-play format that will consist of quarterfinals and semifinals conducted May 30, followed by finals on May 31.
The Field
• This season's field includes 30 teams and six individuals. USC is the top-seeded team, followed by Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt and Stanford.
The Host
• Northern Illinois will serve as the host school for the NCAA Championships, with the event being contested at Rich Harvest Farms.
The Course
• Jerry and Betty Rich's dream began to develop when their amassed farms, a 1,820-acre showcase of nature and agriculture, gave way to one golf hole and a practice area. Then three holes. Then six. After interviewing five architects, Jerry discovered he could draw the plans himself -- and did. He even hired a construction company that had never before built a golf course. Though influenced by Augusta National and the encouragement of friends Bob Murphy and Sam Snead, Jerry also took inspiration from Dick Wilson's Pine Tree in Florida. In 1987, Jerry began the development of Rich Harvest Farms, and 10 years later, all 18 holes were completed.
• The course plays through wooded hillsides and open fields, making use of the natural streams and wetlands. Maintained natural areas and over 100 bunkers add strategic value and visual appeal. Rich
Harvest Farms offers some of the country's most challenging and unique golf holes. It was rated fifth-best new private golf course by Golf Digest in 1997 and now is consistently ranked in Golf Digest's America's 100 Greatest Golf Courses.
Looking Back on 2016-17
• Stanford has won two of its past four tournaments heading into the NCAA Championships. The Cardinal has finished fourth or better in its past six outings.
• Top-10 individual finishes on the season: McNealy (7), Huang (5), Wu (4), Salinda (3), Badhwar (2).
• Maverick McNealy claimed Stanford's lone medalist honor, coming in the season-opening Nike Collegiate Championship.
• McNealy's 11 career victories puts him in a tie for first on Stanford's all-time chart with Tiger Woods and Patrick Rodgers.
• Stanford's 71.75 team stroke average ranks third nationally behind Vanderbilt (71.19) and Baylor (71.48).
• McNealy's 69.61 stroke average ranks third nationally, with Franklin Huang (71.07) checking in at 37th. Brandon Wu (71.62) is tied for 89th.
Tie for Regional Title
• Top-seeded Stanford rallied to earn a share of the NCAA Stanford Regional Championships crown with Baylor. The Cardinal trailed Baylor by seven strokes heading into the final round of the 54-hole event, and went 6-under to match the Bears' final 17-under total. Franklin Huang (67-71-68) and Brandon Wu (70-71-65) tied for fourth at 4-under.
Rally in Boulder
• Stanford nearly overcame both weather delays and an 11-shot deficit on the final day of the Pac-12 Championships, but checked out of the event with a second-place finish. The Cardinal cut title-winning Oregon's lead to one stroke during the final round before cooling off and bowing out with a three-shot defeat. The three-day, 72-hole event at Colorado's Boulder Country Club was trimmed to only 54 holes due to a series of weather delays, including several inches of snow throughout the tournament.
Second in Santa Cruz
• Maverick McNealy, Bradley Knox, and Isaiah Salinda finished among the top five individuals and Stanford placed second in the Western Intercollegiate at Pasatiempo Golf Club. Stanford (351-347-370) was 18-over in one of the longest-running men's golf championships in the United States, with Pac-12 foe USC winning the event at even-par. McNealy, who won the tournament in 2016, made a run at medalist honors this year but took a step back by going 3-over during his final three holes. McNealy (68-68-74) was fourth at even-par and USC's Justin Suh bested the field at 5-under to take home the title. Salinda (69-66-76) and Knox (71-70-70) tied for fifth at 1-over, with Knox moving up six spots from his standing through 36 holes. Salinda punctuated his outing with an eagle on the par-4, 378-yard fourth hole.
It Was a Good Win
• Stanford punctuated a wire-to-wire lead by holding off No. 1 USC to claim the team title at The Goodwin, its first win on the season and 15th overall in the 49th edition of the event. Stanford (276-288-273) was 3-under overall, nine shots better than second-place USC.
Doubled Down
• Stanford finished tied for fourth among 15 teams at the Southern Highlands Collegiate. The Cardinal fell two spots from its standing after 36 holes. The three-day event at Southern Highlands Golf Course yielded scores of 281-294-298 for the Cardinal, nine strokes over par and matching the output of Pepperdine. Ten of the nation's top-25 teams competed in the event.
Fourth in La Quinta
• Isaiah Salinda and Franklin Huang shelved top-10 individual finishes while Stanford placed fourth at The Prestige at PGA West with rounds of 281-289-291 (+9). Salinda and Huang tied for sixth at 3-under overall. It was the best-ever collegiate finish for Salinda (69-71-70).
Island Living
• Stanford opened the spring season with a sixth-place finish at the Amer Ari Invitational contested at the Waikoloa Kings' Course. The Cardinal went 21-under after rounds of 278-282-283 on the par-72, 7,074-yard track. Maverick McNealy (68-66-68) went under par in each of his three rounds for a 14-under that yielded a fourth-place finish.
Cardinal Does Napa
• Stanford lost to USC in the final match of the Gifford Collegiate Championship at Silverado Resort and Spa. The Cardinal and USC each won two matches and halved the remaining two, but the Trojans won the tie-breaker (most holes) by a 7-6 margin.
Late Charge Yields Bronze
• Stanford (293-286-278) teamed to go 7-under for third place at the three-day, 54-hole Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate. Brandon Wu (-6) tied for fourth among individuals after rounds of 73-68-69.
McNealy Ties Record
• In his 2016-17 season debut at the Nike Collegiate Invitational, Maverick McNealy earned his 11th career victory, matching the Stanford record shared by PGA Tour professionals Tiger Woods and Patrick Rodgers. 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.
Swinging In Scotland
• Before the season began, Stanford players trekked across the pond to Scotland to master their craft on some of the world's best courses. The courses played included: Balcomie Links, Carnoustie Golf Links, New Course in St. Andrews, Kingsbarns Golf Links, Cruden Bay Golf Club, Trump International Golf Links, Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, Nairn Golf Club, Castle Stuart Golf Links and Royal Dornoch Golf Club.
