Fought To The Finish

LA QUINTA, Calif. – No. 6 Stanford men's golf wrapped up play at The Prestige with a third-place finish on Wednesday at PGA West's Norman Course. The Cardinal was led by juniors Michael Thorbjornsen, who tied for third, and Karl Vilips' tie for fifth.
 
After 12 teams concluded their second round on Wednesday morning, the 24-team field began the third round with a 10:30 a.m. shotgun start. Drama would play out over the next six-plus hours, as the winds picked up and some of the world's top amateurs battled it out to the finish in the desert.
 
In the final group of the day, World No. 2 Thorbjornsen played with No. 3 Ludvig Aberg (Texas Tech) and No. 13 William Mouw (Pepperdine). Aberg was the two-time defending champion of the event.
 
Thorbjornsen began the final round at 7-under, holding a one-shot lead over Mouw and a two-stroke advantage over Aberg. The trio fought to the finish, with Aberg (-6) besting Mouw (-5) and Thorbjornsen (-4) in the end.
 
Over the final four holes, the three golfers vying for the top spot dropped a combined 10 shots, as the conditions got tougher as the round went on. Thorbjornsen entered the 15th hole at 9-under, tied with Aberg, and two shots ahead of Mouw (-7).
 
Aberg double bogeyed 15, while Thorbjornsen and Mouw both recorded bogeys. No. 16 proved pivotal, as Thorbjornsen doubled, Mouw bogeyed and Aberg got in with a par on the 537-yard, Par 5. Trailing by one stroke, Thorbjornsen double bogeyed the Par 3 17th, while Aberg and Mouw each registered pars. Thorbjornsen and Mouw each recorded pars on No. 18, while Aberg bogeyed, but it wasn't enough to overcome as the Texas Tech senior won his third straight Prestige event.
 
On the team front, it was a battle between Stanford and Pepperdine all day long. The final three holes proved to be the difference, as the Cardinal's five golfers went a combined 12-over on holes 16-18, while the Waves' five were just 4-over, an eight-shot difference in what proved to be a nine-shot deficit at the end of the day.
 
Barclay Brown matched Vilips 2-over 73 for the Cardinal's best round of the day.
 
At The Prestige Individual (Terra Lago North Course), freshman Anton Ouyang was Stanford's top finisher. Ouyang finished tied for 15th at 6-over.
 
The Cardinal is back in action on March 5 at the three-day Cabo Collegiate.
 

The Prestige (PGA West Norman Course, par 71)

The Prestige Individual (Terra Lago North Course, par 72)