SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Stanford men's golf kicked off the opening round of the Western Intercollegiate on Monday with a 4-over effort as a team, navigating the difficult par-70, 6,486-yard course to sit in lone possession of second place after 18 holes.
Michael Thorbjornsen lead the Cardinal by turning in a team-best 1-under 69 with three birdies and two bogeys, including a birdie on the par-5 18th after Thorbjornsen's 35-foot eagle attempt hit the flagstick and trickled a few inches away from the hole. The senior finished the day tied-12th as he looks for his third consecutive top-two finish.
Sean-Karl Dobson and Ethan Gao both held a share of the lead at one point in the afternoon before ultimately finishing at even-par and 1-over, respectively. Dobson shot 1-under on the first hole and knocked down back-to-back birdies on holes 8 and 9 to hold the lead at the turn, but bogeys on the 6th, 11th, and 12th pushed the Austin, Texas native outside of the top ten as he finished tied-16th.
The senior duo of Karl Vilips and Jake Beber-Frankel each posted 2-over 71 efforts in the opening round, both scoring a pair of birdies opposite four bogeys in their first trip around Pasatiempo Golf Club. Barclay Brown was the non-scoring round in the lineup with a 5-over 75 with two birdies, three bogeys, and two double-bogeys.
Anton Ouyang posted a respectable 2-over 72 in the individual group to open up the morning, climbing as high as the top ten early in the day with a round that consisted of three birdies, a bogey and two double bogeys in his first trip. Kush Arora shot a 5-over 75 in his opening round performance.
Action resumes tomorrow afternoon with Cardinal tee times beginning at 12:40 p.m. PT. The Western Intercollegiate will be streamed live on Peacock starting at 4 p.m. PT.
The Western Intercollegiate (Pasatiempo Golf Club, par 70)
Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|
2. Stanford | 354 (+4) | --- | --- | --- |
T12. Michael Thorbjornsen | 69 (-1) | --- | --- | --- |
T16. Sean-Karl Dobson | 70 (E) | --- | --- | --- |
T22. Ethan Gao | 71 (+1) | --- | --- | --- |
T31. Jake-Beber-Frankel | 72 (+2) | --- | --- | --- |
T31. Karl Vilips | 72 (+2) | --- | --- | --- |
T63. Barclay Brown | 75 (+5) | --- | --- | --- |
T31. Anton Ouyang^ | 72 (+2) | --- | --- | --- |
T63. Kush Arora^ | 76 (+5) | --- | --- | --- |
^ Individual Competition only
Italics - Non-scoring round