SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - Stanford saved its best performance for Wednesday's final round at Pasatiempo Golf Club, shooting a 1-over 349 to secure the tournament title at the Western Intercollegiate. The Cardinal finished the three-day event at 8-over par, pacing the field by five strokes after 54 holes of action.
MIchael Thorbjornsen yet again put himself in contention for the tournament win, turning in a 3-under 67 final round with six birdies and three bogeys to finish one stroke off the lead. After a bogey-free front nine with a trio of birdies on holes 2,4, and 6, the senior took sole possesion of the lead with a birdie on the par-5 15th. However, an untimely bogey on the 16th followed by back-to-back birdies from ultimate winner Filip Jakubcik of Arizona in the trail group put the Wellesley, Mass., native out of contention as he would have to settle for his third consecutive top-two finish.
Karl Vilips also briefly held a share of the lead on the day, battling back from an opening hole double-bogey with birdies on holes 3 and 8 and sit tied for first halfway through the round, but the Aussie would fall off the pace after some missed birdie chances on the back nine to finish the day with an even-par 70 and sit tied for fourth on the tournament.
Freshman Ethan Gao turned in an impressive 2-under 68 final round with an eagle, three birdies, and three bogeys, climbing 15 spots and finish tied-18th for his third top-20 finish of his young career. Jake Beber-Frankel, Sean-Karl Dobson, and Barclay Brown all finished 2-over par on the day to round out the Cardinal lineup.
Kush Arora finished shot a 2-over 72 on the round to finish tied for 48th as an individual, while Anton Ouyang turned in a 10-over 80 scorecard in his final round of action.
Stanford returns to action next weekend, heading to Carefree, Arizona for the Pac-12 Championships on April 26-28.
The Western Intercollegiate (Pasatiempo Golf Club, par 70)
| Name | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Stanford | 354 (+4) | 355 (+5) | 349 (+1) | 1058 (+8) |
| T2. Michael Thorbjornsen | 69 (-1) | 71 (+1) | 67 (-3) | 207 (-3) |
| T4. Karl Vilips | 72 (+2) | 66 (-4) | 70 (E) | 208 (-2) |
| T18. Ethan Gao | 71 (+1) | 73 (+3) | 68 (-2) | 212 (+2) |
| T37. Sean-Karl Dobson | 70 (E) | 74 (+4) | 72 (+2) | 216 (+6) |
| T40. Jake-Beber-Frankel | 72 (+2) | 73 (+3) | 72 (+2) | 217 (+7) |
| T50. Barclay Brown | 75 (+5) | 72 (+2) | 72 (+2) | 219 (+9) |
| T48. Kush Arora^ | 75 (+5) | 71 (+1) | 72 (+2) | 218 (+8) |
| T79. Anton Ouyang^ | 72 (+2) | 76 (+6) | 80 (+10) | 228 (+18) |
^ Individual Competition only
Italics - Non-scoring round