FORT WORTH, Texas - Looking to defend its 2021 title at the event, No. 2 Stanford men's golf opened the 2022 Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational with a strong 36 holes on Monday at Colonial Country Club. The Cardinal sits in second, four strokes back of leader North Carolina, following rounds of 281 and 273 to finish the day at 6-under 554 with 18 holes left to play on Tuesday. Junior Michael Thorbjornsen, one shot back of Georgia Tech's Bartley Forrester, fired rounds of 69 and 66 to sit in second place at 5-under 135.
Stanford was tied for third after the first 18 holes on Monday with a 1-over 281. The Cardinal was led by fifth-year senior Ethan Ng, who was tied for second following a 3-under 67. In the second round on Monday afternoon, Stanford shot a 7-under 273 to keep pace with UNC and their 8-under 550. Thorbjornsen climbed the leaderboard in the second round thanks to five birdies and just one bogey.
Stanford leads the field in Par 4 scoring (-1) and is tied for third in Par 3 scoring (+5). The Cardinal is also 2-under on Par 5s. Steady play and low numbers continue to be a theme of Stanford's early season success, as the Cardinal led the field with 37 birdies and added 112 pars on the day.
Thorbjornsen shined on the Par 5s Monday, leading the field at 3-under, while he was 1-under on both the Par 3s and Par 4s. His 10 birdies were second-most in the field, while adding 22 pars on the day, as well. Barclay Brown (8), Karl Vilips (7), Dean Greyserman (6) and Ethan Ng (6) all racked up the birdies Monday for the Cardinal. Both Vilips and Greyserman closed their second rounds with birdies on three of their final four holes. Vilips and Ng - both 2-under - joined Thorbjornsen as three of the 16 players in the 80-person field under par on the Par 4s Monday.
Stanford is well positioned to make a run at its second team, and individual, title to begin the fall on Tuesday. In order to do so, it will have to continue it's strong play against the 16-team field which features four Top-5 teams, six Top-10 programs and 10 of the nation's Top-20 ranked schools.
Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational (Colonial Country Club, par 70)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2. Stanford | 281 (+1) | 273 (-7) | -- | 554 (-6) |
| 2. Michael Thorbjornsen | 69 (-1) | 66 (-4) | -- | 135 (-5) |
| T12. Ethan Ng | 67 (-3) | 72 (+2) | -- | 139 (-1) |
| T23. Karl Vilips | 73 (+3) | 68 (-2) | -- | 141 (+1) |
| T29. Barclay Brown | 72 (+2) | 70 (E) | -- | 142 (+2) |
| T52. Dean Greyserman | 76 (+5) | 69 (-1) | -- | 145 (+5) |