SAMMAMISH, Wash. - Junior Barclay Brown is the solo leader at the 2022 Pac-12 Championships following 36 holes on Monday at Aldarra Golf Club and Stanford currently sits in third at the halfway point of the event. Brown fired a 3-under 68 to open the day, followed by a 4-under 67, to own a one-stroke lead with 36 holes left to play. As a team, Washington sits in the lead at 4-under, a lead that the Cardinal trimmed from 13 strokes after round one down to six to end the day.
"It was great to see the guys hang in there during the second round," Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf Conrad Ray said following the first day. "I think everyone's swinging with confidence and it seemed like the team was more comfortable in the afternoon with some of the reads on the greens and lines off the tee. We also talked about trying to break the 36 holes down into four, nine-hole competitions and I think the guys did that in a productive way.
"Being resilient is the name of the game and I feel like our depth will also shine in that regard. We have six players here that can contribute in an equal way and happy that Barclay led us today, but I'm sure others are able to do that tomorrow and the next day."
As a team, Stanford is in third at 2-over, but was the only team in the 12-team field under par during Monday's second round. The Cardinal sat in eighth following a 4-over 359 in the first round, but bounced back with a 2-under 353 to close the day.
Brown and sophomore Michael Thorbjornsen both fired matching 4-under 67s in the second round, which marked an 11-stroke improvement for Thorbjornsen from the morning to the afternoon.
All six golfers contributed to one of the five team scores during at least one round on Monday. Sophomore Karl Vilips opened with a 1-under 70, Ethan Ng fired an even-par 71 in the second round, Alex Yang had a 1-over 72 in the first round of the day, and sixth-year senior Henry Shimp fired rounds of 72-73 to factor into the team tally in both rounds. Earlier on Monday, Shimp was named the 2022 Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Stanford's league-leading fourth recipient since the award first started being presented in 2007-08.
"My message to the guys is that everyone in the field will have to deal with the conditions and the battle is the mental game when it is rainy and the conditions are tough," Ray said of looking forward to tomorrow,w hich calls for rain throughout the day. "Expectations need to change on what is good and bad. Limiting big numbers, taking conservative lines into the green and doing the straight forward stuff well is what our intention should be."
Tuesday's third round for Stanford will begin at 11:12 a.m. off hole No. 1. The Cardinal will play with Washington and Arizona State.
Pac-12 Championships (Aldarra Golf Club, par 71)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3. Stanford | 359 (+4) | 353 (-2) | -- | -- | 712 (+2) |
| 1. Barclay Brown | 68 (-3) | 67 (-4) | -- | -- | 135 (-7) |
| T28. Michael Thorbjornsen | 78 (+7) | 67 (-4) | -- | -- | 145 (+3) |
| T28. Karl Vilips | 70 (-1) | 75 (+4) | -- | -- | 145 (+3) |
| T28. Henry Shimp | 72 (+1) | 73 (+2) | -- | -- | 145 (+3) |
| T46. Ethan Ng | 77 (+6) | 71 (E) | -- | -- | 148 (+6) |
| T63. Alex Yang | 72 (+1) | 83 (+12) | -- | -- | 155 (+13) |