Cardinal, Brown Finish Runner Up

SAMMAMISH, Wash. - Stanford men's golf shaved six strokes off Washington's lead and leapfrogged Arizona State on the leaderboard to finish second on the final day at the 2022 Pac-12 Championships. It is the Cardinal's sixth, top-two finish in the last eight conference championships. Individually, Barclay Brown finished second, Stanford's second straight year with the runner up. The hosts, Washington, edged out the Cardinal by three strokes and UW senior Noah Woolsey won the individual title over Brown by one stroke at Aldarra Golf Club.

"It was great to have a chance!" Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf Conrad Ray said. "We have been working hard as a group and it feels good to have it pay off. We will need to continue to improve in a few areas as we prep for Regionals.

As a team, Stanford sat in a tie for sixth following the first round on Monday and trailed Washington by 13 strokes, but steadily climbed the leaderboard over the final three rounds. The Cardinal posted the best round in the field on Monday afternoon, tied for the second-best round on Tuesday and had the third-best round on Wednesday. 

Sophomores Karl Vilips and Michael Thorbjornsen led Stanford on Wednesday, as Vilips posted his best round of the tournament with a 4-under 67 to move up 17 spots and finish tied for 18th. Thorbjornsen, who was tied for 67th after an opening-round, 7-over 78, put together three straight rounds under par to close the tournament and finish tied for sixth at even par.

Brown entered the day one stroke ahead of Woolsey, but found himself behind by a stroke at the turn. On the front nine, Brown was 3-over with two bogeys, a double bogey and a birdie. Brown was down five strokes after a bogey and double bogey to begin the back nine, coupled with Woolsey's birdie on No. 11, but bounced back with four consecutive birdies and trailed by only two strokes heading to No. 16. Brown bogeyed 16, but Woolsey found trouble and double bogeyed 17, and the deficit was just one  heading to 18. Both golfers, the final group on the course, made par on 18 and the medalist honors went to Woolsey. 

"All three are tough to beat when they drive it in the fairway and make a few putts," Ray said of Brown, Vilips and Thorbjornsen. "They were able to do that today. Controlling the ball off the tee sets up good scoring."

Next up for the Cardinal is NCAA Regionals, May 16-18. The NCAA selection show is next Wednesday, May 4, at 1 p.m. PT on GOLF Channel.

"Keep the gas pedal down!" Ray said of his message to the team heading into Regionals. "We have only had a few days this season when all five guys have strung together the round they wanted. When we do that we can compete with any team in the country."
 

Pac-12 Championships (Aldarra Golf Club, par 71)