Cardinal Shatters Regional Records

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The quest for National Championship No. 10 is officially on for Stanford men's golf, as the Cardinal qualified for the 2023 NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club by way of its record-setting 57-under 807 at the NCAA Las Vegas Regional on Wednesday.
 
Stanford's 57-under was a school record for 54 holes by 15 shots, besting the 2006 Cordevalle Classic where the Cardinal shot 42 under. The 57-under, 12 shots better than any previous NCAA Regional, was the fifth-best 54-hole score in NCAA history and 24 shots better than Stanford's 2007 Regional performance.

"We are super excited to advance to the NCAA Championships," Knowles Family Director of Golf Conrad Ray said. "We wanted to pick up the win, but the guys played really solid and kept the accelerator down the whole week. I'm really proud of Ethan Ng and his play as of late with his best career finish. It was also great to get contributions throughout the lineup and that's what it takes to win the big one. We're looking forward to a few days on campus to rest up and get ready for a long week Grayhawk, but one that we feel good about and prepared for."
 
Arizona State finished first at the Las Vegas Regional behind an NCAA Regional-record 59-under 805.
 
Fifth-year senior Ethan Ng led the way for Stanford with a career-best fourth-place finish. His previous career best was a tie for sixth at the 2020 Southwestern Invitational. Ng finished with an 18-under 198, the best Regional performance ever by a Cardinal. Ng was first in the field this week on the Par 4s (11-under) and was tied for sixth in Par 5-scoring, also at 11-under. Ng's 8-under 64 first round on Monday was a career-best and his 6-under 66 in Tuesday's second round matched his second-best round ever. Ng's 20 birdies was tied for fourth-most in the field this week.
 
For the second straight tournament, Michael Thorbjornsen finished at 15-under (201). It was Thorbjornsen's best 54-hole score-to-par in his career. He fired a matching 15-under over four rounds to win the Pac-12 Championships last time out. Thorbjornsen was 9-under on the Par 5s and 6-under on the Par 4s this week and is now 30-under over the last seven rounds. His 21 birdies was tied with teammate Karl Vilips for the most in the tournament. The Ben Hogan Award finalist, Thorbjornsen owns a 68.77 scoring average through 31 rounds this season, on pace to break Maverick McNealy's (2014-15) school record scoring average of 69.05 for a single season.
 
Barclay Brown finished with an 11-under 205 for a tie for 14th. His 19 birdies on the week was tied for sixth.
 
Sixth-year senior Nate Menon enters his final NCAA Championships playing the best golf of his career. He is 18-under over the last six rounds, firing the two best rounds of his career at the Las Vegas Regional – a 6-under 66 on Tuesday and a 5-under 67 on Wednesday. Menon was 3-under on the Par 3s to lead the field and his 16 birdies were inside the Top 20. He finished tied for 20th at 10-under 206.
 
Vilips tied for 30th with a 7-under 209, factoring into Stanford's scoring on both Monday and Tuesday, when he fired his best round of the tournament, a 5-under 67.
 
The Cardinal's 97 birdies was the most in the field by 20, while its 137 pars was fewest. The Cardinal led the tournament in Par 4 scoring (-24) and was third in Par 3 (+5) and Par 5 scoring (-42).
 
Stanford has qualified for its 14th NCAA Championships under Ray, who guided the Cardinal to the 2007 and 2019 NCAA titles. The NCAA Championships start on Friday, May 26, at Grayhawk Golf Club.
 

NCAA Las Vegas Regional (Bear's Best Las Vegas, par 72)