FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – For the third time in 11 years, the Stanford men's golf team has advanced to match play in the NCAA Championships.
Weathering a shaky front nine on Monday at demanding Blessings Golf Club, the No. 12 Cardinal steadied on the final nine and finished sixth in the 30-team field.
Sixth-seeded Stanford will face No. 3 seed Wake Forest in the quarterfinals on Tuesday at 5 a.m. PT.
"Really proud of the guys," said Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf Conrad Ray. "Any time you get a chance to play match play at the national championship, you're happy. Our guys ground it out."
Match play-bound!#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/mGHbRSnSKL
— Stanford Men's Golf (@StanfordMGolf) May 28, 2019
Eight-time national champions, the Cardinal reached the match play semifinals in 2014 and the quarterfinals in 2010.
Stanford finished the stroke play portion of the tournament Monday at 37-over 1,189. Top-ranked Oklahoma State placed first at 16-under 1,136 and was the only team to break par.
Stanford started Monday's final round tied for second at 13-over but stumbled early. Whipping winds, tough pin placements and slick greens added to the difficulty.
Paired with top-ranked Oklahoma State and Texas, the Cardinal sustained two double-bogeys and it could have been worse. On the par-4 first hole, leadoff man David Snyder pushed his drive into the right hazard, sustained a one-stroke penalty and dropped, left his third well short of the green, then holed out a sand wedge for a par from 128 yards.
His 6-over 78 was Stanford's second-best score.
Near-miss birdie putt at No. 1 by freshman Daulet Tuleubayev. Solid start in pressure-cooker.#GoStanford #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/xMzpRSc9yQ
— Stanford Men's Golf (@StanfordMGolf) May 27, 2019
Once again, senior Isaiah Salinda was a steadying force. He topped the team with a 2-over-par 74 and tied for sixth at even-par 288. Salinda also paced the squad last year by tying for 15th.
Junior Henry Shimp tied for 25th at 7-over 295, while senior Brandon Wu tied for 53rd at 15-over 303 and freshman Daulet Tuleubayev finished 66th at 18-over 306.
Matthew Wolff of Oklahoma State was the individual champion with a score of 10-under 278.
"It was obviously not a good start for any of us," Salinda said. "We knew that we just had to play solid on the back and keep it together."
Clutch birdie by Isaiah Salinda at 14.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/fyqar6NXnf
— Stanford Men's Golf (@StanfordMGolf) May 28, 2019
After recording only three birdies on the front nine, Stanford collected six birdies and an eagle on the back nine to earn a much-needed cushion down the stretch.
"It feels awesome," Salinda said. "The last few years we haven't really come close. We felt good coming into the week and to make match play is an accomplishment itself, but we want to keep going."
Near-miss birdie putt at No. 1 by freshman Daulet Tuleubayev. Solid start in pressure-cooker.#GoStanford #NCAAGolf pic.twitter.com/xMzpRSc9yQ
— Stanford Men's Golf (@StanfordMGolf) May 27, 2019
The Cardinal entered the NCAA Championships with four consecutive team victories.
The other quarterfinals pit Oklahoma State vs. SMU, Vanderbilt vs. Texas A&M and Texas vs. Oklahoma. The Stanford-Wake Forest winner meets the Vanderbilt-Texas A&M winner in the afternoon semifinals.
"It's one of those places where good golf wins," said Ray of Blessings. "There's zero margin for error. If we can be really precise off the tee and into the greens, I think we'll be okay. I think our guys are feeling a little breath of new life. The last couple days have been a little slow for us but's it's a fresh start tomorrow."
Golf Channel will provide live coverage from 8-10:30 a.m. PT.
Live scoring is available on GoStanford.com.