STANFORD, Calif. –The 12th-ranked Stanford men's golf team looks to continue its good play next week when it competes in the NCAA Stanford Regional, Monday through Wednesday at Stanford Golf Course.
The Cardinal has won its last three starts, prevailing at The Goodwin, Western Intercollegiate and Pac-12 Championships, and is an accumulative 25-under par.
"I've tried to characterize our good play as just consistent play," said Conrad Ray, the Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf. "Peak is always a nerve-racking word for a coach because it means there's a valley somewhere else. I still feel like we're on the way up and getting solid contributions from every guy."
Stanford previously hosted NCAA Regionals in 2005, 2012 and 2017. The Cardinal captured Regional championships in 1996, 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2017, and owns eight NCAA titles.
In all, 81 teams and 45 individuals will compete at six regional sites. The top five teams and low individual not a member of an advancing team at each site qualify for the NCAA Championships, May 24-29 at the Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
"Obviously, hosting at home is an advantage on a very demanding course," Ray said. "We'll have to be on top of our game."
NCAA Stanford Regional
Monday-Wednesday, May 13-15
Stanford Golf Course • Stanford, Calif.
6,727 yards • Par-70 (35-35)
The Coverage
• Live results will be available throughout the event at GoStanford.com and Golfstat.com, with updates available on Twitter (@StanfordMgolf), Facebook (StanfordMgolf) and Instagram (@StanfordMgolf).
The Field
• 13 teams and 10 individuals.
The field includes: No. 1 seed Arizona State, No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 North Carolina State, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 6 South Florida, No. 7 Kansas, No. 8 Virginia, No. 9 Ole Miss, No. 10 Georgia Southern, No. 11 UNC Greensboro, No. 12 Augusta University and No. 13 Denver.
The individuals are: Austin Squires of Cincinnati, Riley Elmes of Loyola Marymount, James Nicholas and Teddy Zinsner of Yale, Kyler Dunkle of Utah, Guillaume Fanonnel of Louisiana-Monroe, Alex Lee of Fresno State, Jack Rhea and Shiso Go of East Tennessee State and Jake Vincent of Southern Utah.
The Format
• Three rounds of medal play starting off the No. 1 and No. 10 tees. Tee times run from 8:30-11:04 a.m. PT. Teams have until one hour before each round to insert a substitute.
Teams will count four of five scores each day. Schools will be repaired after the first and second round, with leaders teeing off first on off No. 1 on Tuesday and Wednesday. In the event of a tie in the team or individual competition, a playoff will be held. A team and individual winner will be crowned.
Spectators
• The Regional is opening to the public and there is no admission charge. Free parking is available at the course, located at 91 Links Road off Junipero Serra Blvd.
The Forecast
• The weather will be mostly sunny on Monday with a high temperature of 73 degrees. It will be partly cloudy on Tuesday and Wednesday, with a high of 72 degrees. Light wind is expected each day.
Cardinal Contingent
• Stanford will be represented by senior Isaiah Salinda, senior Brandon Wu, junior David Snyder, junior Henry Shimp and freshman Daulet Tuleubayev. Sophomore Nate Menon is the substitute.
One-Two Punch
• Wu and Salinda have paced the Cardinal and were All-Pac-12 first team selections. They are No. 11 and No. 29, respectively, in the World Amateur Golf Ranking.
• In his last seven starts, Wu has finished sixth, 30th, second, third, first, fourth, 11th and seventh while averaging 69.77. He is a combined 30-under par and has posted seven rounds in the 60's, including a pair of 65's. Wu's first career victory came at The Goodwin on March 30 in a playoff against Snyder.
• Salinda has also been hot. He's finished sixth, first and fifth in his last three starts while averaging 69.20. Salinda fired a career-best 6-under-par 64 in the first round at Western Intercollegiate to help pave the way for his first collegiate win on April 14. He's a combined 14-under in his past four events and has recorded a team-best eight rounds in the 60's this season.
• Snyder has contributed top-20 finishes in four of his last five starts. He's broken 70 in five of his last 10 rounds, topped by a final-round 4-under 66 at The Goodwin and is averaging 70.20 in his last 10 starts.
• In his last four tournaments, Shimp has four 68's. His best finish is a tie for ninth at the Southern Highlands Intercollegiate and he earned a share of 11th at the Western Intercollegiate.
• Tuleubayev posted a career-best tie for seventh at the Pac-12 Championships and was selected All-Pac-12 second team. He has shot 72 or lower in six of his last 10 rounds.
Trending Up
• Playing one of the toughest schedules in the country, Stanford has finished outside the top-10 only once this season. The team has come on strong this spring, placing sixth, third, first, first and first in its last five starts.
The Course
One of approximately 30 college courses in the country, Stanford Golf Course opened in 1930 and was designed by famed architects George C. Thomas and Billy Bell Jr. It underwent a renovation by John Harbottle in 2008. In 2018, Beau Welling Design oversaw a renovation that included reconstruction and relocation of nearly every bunker, new irrigation, and the modification of several holes, notably the par-4 fifth and par-4 11th.
Located on campus below the scenic foothills, the sprawling, championship layout is flanked by majestic oak trees and meandering San Francisquito Creek, the latter coming into play on nearly half the course. Each hole offers stunning views of the surrounding mountains, and San Francisco, about 30 miles north, can be seen from the elevated 18th tee.
Home to the nationally-ranked men's and women's golf programs, and the Cardinal cross country teams, Stanford Golf Course was ranked No. 88 in the world in 1993 by Golf Magazine. In a poll of college golf coaches in 2009, the course was ranked No. 3 in the nation. In 2015, Stanford was rated the No. 6 college course in the country by Golfweek.
Rich in tradition and history, World Golf Hall of Famers Lawson Little,Tom Watson and Mickey Wright honed their games on the course, as did future Hall of Famer, Tiger Woods, Bob Rosburg, Notah Begay III, Patrick Rodgers and Maverick McNealy. The course was also home to former USGA Presidents Sandy Tatum, Grant Spaeth and Walter Driver.
Stanford Golf Course has been the site of many important tournaments, including men's and women's NCAA Championships, U.S. Open Qualifying, USGA Junior Amateur Qualifying, and The Gathering, a former PGA Senior Tour event. Each year, the course hosts The Goodwin, a top men's collegiate tournament, and two women's events: the Stanford Intercollegiate hosted by Professor Condoleezza Rice, and the Peg Barnard Invitational.
