After two straight seasons were impacted by the Covid-19 global pandemic, it was nice for Stanford men's golf to feel somewhat normal again in 2021-22. The season began on time with the Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club and ended at NCAA Champions at Grayhawk Golf Club at the end of May. In between, there were a lot of ups, and a few downs, but good building blocks to continue to grow from.
The Results
The Cardinal finished the season at NCAA Championships with an 18th-place finish, just missing the Sunday cut at Grayhawk Golf Club. Of course Stanford hoped for a better result, but getting back to NCAA Championships for the first time since winning the National Championship in 2019 was the expectation.
Stanford claimed one victory during the year, a win at the Colonial Collegiate Invitational over 14 other top-ranked teams. In 12 events during the season, mostly against other top-ranked programs week-in and week-out, the Cardinal finished first or second four times, inside the Top 5 seven times and in the top half of the field nine times.
The Honors
- All American: Michael Thorbjornsen (2nd Team)
- All Region: Michael Thorbjornsen
- All Conference: Michael Thorbjornse (1st Team), Barclay Brown (2nd Team), Karl Vilips (2nd Team)
- Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year: Henry Shimp (fourth in program history)
Individual Highlights
- Jake Beber-Frankel finished tied for ninth at the Saint Mary's Invitational, his best career finish at Stanford.
- Barclay Brown finished second at the Pac-12 Championships and tied for second at the Stockton Regional. Brown also had a third-place finish in the Saint Mary's Invitational at Poppy Hills Golf Course in the fall.
- Henry Shimp finished tied for third at the Colonial Collegiate Invitational in helping Stanford to a team win.
- Michael Thorbjornsen had six Top-10 finishes including a runner-up finish at the Cabo Collegiate in the spring and at the Colonial Collegiate Invitational in the fall. Thorbjornsen's 70.66 scoring average was the 10th-best in program history for a single season.
- Karl Vilips enjoyed a solid sophomore campaign with six Top-20 finishes. He tied for third at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate and tied for fifth at the Saint Mary's Invitational to close a strong fall.
- Freshman Alex Yang played in 22 rounds and had six rounds at par or better with two in the 60s.