Men's Golf Team PhotoConrad Ray
Supriya Limaye / ISI
Men's Golf

Men's Golf: 2025 Year in Review

STANFORD, Calif. — A win in The Big Match, a strong late-season surge, and a 26th-consecutive NCAA Postseason appearance highlighted the 2024-25 season for Stanford men’s golf. 

The Cardinal finished the season 8th at the NCAA Regionals in Amherst, Va., and recorded a Big Match win and a second place outing at the Western Intercollegiate in the 21st season for Knowles Family Director of Men’s Golf Conrad Ray's era on The Farm.

Story of the Season

Stanford began the season with a trio of competitions in September, earning strong performances from what was regarded as one of the nation’s best freshman classes in the form of TK Chantananuwat, Jay Leng and Logan Kim. Leng had a strong opener for the Cardinal at the Fighting Illini Invitational, placing T-15th overall to lead the Cardinal - which finished T-6th.

The youth continued to shine in the early going as Stanford took a 4-2 win in the fifth installment of the Big Match, grabbing its second victory in the competition’s young history. Junior Nathan Wang and sophomore Ethan Gao combined with Chantananuwat and Kim to earn the Cardinal’s four wins. Following the Big Match win, Chantananuwat grabbed his first top-20 finish in his collegiate career with a 3-over 213 at the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational. 

Stanford opened the spring slate with another combination of strong outings for its freshmen as Chantananuwat and Leng grabbed high finishes at the Amer Ari Intercollegiate as Stanford opened the back half of the season with an 11th place finish. Chantananuwat grabbed his first top-10 finish with a career best 14-under 202 to grab a share of 10th overall while Leng shot 10-under 206 to place T-28th. 

The outing in Hawai’i kickstarted a strong run for the Cardinal to end the season, beginning with a trip to La Quinta, Calif., as Stanford placed T-11th at The Prestige while Wang finished inside the top-15 after an 11-man jump in the final round. Stanford then showed out with an early march escapade to the Cabo Collegiate as the Cardinal grabbed 7th overall out of a field that included some of the nation’s top programs. Chantananuwat secured his third top-20 finish to bolster his freshman campaign as the top team finisher for Stanford. 

Back in The Golden State to end the season, Stanford began its postseason run with a respectable 8th-place finish at the annual installment of The Goodwin. Three Cardinal finished inside the top-20 for the tournament as Stanford turned in the best card on the final day to surge into the top 10. Following the three-day venture at Stanford Golf Course, the Cardinal took a short trip down Route 87 for The Western Intercollegiate to wrap up the regular season. Nathan Wang and Logan Kim rattled off season-best’s while Chantananuwat locked up his second top-10 finish as the Cardinal took a runner-up spot overall and brought hardware back to The Farm for the second-straight year. 

Stanford showed well in its inaugural ACC Tournament to begin the postseason run, battling the elements and an elongated third round that saw the Cardinal’s run to a championship cut at stroke play. Nathan Wang finished as the leader for Stanford with his fourth top-20 finish of the season that solidified Stanford’s 26th-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Having earned the No. 7 seed in the Amherst Regional, the Cardinal battled through four days of golf and clawed back from a nine-shot deficit in the final round but could not pull off the comeback as the 2024-25 season ended in NCAA Regional stroke play. 

Following the season, Stanford earned its first ACC postseason honor with Nathan Wang being tabbed to the All-ACC team for his overall performance during the 2024-25 season. Wang finished as Stanford;’s highest finisher at the ACC Championships and registered a team-leading 70.97 scoring average in his first season on The Farm.

Hall of Fame

Patrick Rodgers became the 19th Stanford men’s golf alumni to be inducted into the Stanford Athletics Hall of Fame, earning the honor in August just before the 2024-25 campaign began. 

Rodgers, who played at Stanford from 2011-14, had a storied career on The Farm, leading the Cardinal to three NCAA Championship appearances including a semifinal placement in 2014. A three-time First-Team All-American, Rodgers joined the PGA tour in 2015 and currently ranks inside the top 50 in the world rankings. 

Bolstering the Staff

Alex Merrill joined the men’s golf staff in 2024-25 having been named the Hong Seh Lim Assistant Men’s Golf Coach in early September. Merrill previously served as the Director of Administration & Performance for Golf at Purdue, helping the Boilermakers to a combined six tournament wins and a pair of NCAA Championship appearances. 

Before Purdue, Merrill spent 12 years as a sports performance coach for men’s and women’s golf, wrestling and women’s tennis at Duke. During his time on Tobacco Road, the Blue Devils won two NCAA Championships in women’s golf while the men’s team made NCAA tournament appearances. 

Coming in 2025-26

Stanford’s 2025-26 signing class includes some of the nation’s top young prospects with Edan Cui and Cooper Stearns set to make their way to The Farm this fall. Cui ranks 32nd in the AJGA Rankings and is coming off an impressive junior campaign in 2024-25 that saw him earn five top-10 finishes in nine events, headlined by a win at the Mizuno/Greyson Sigg Junior Championship in August. 

Stearns is set to join the Cardinal ranked 201 in the AJGA rankings through three events in 2024 as a two-sport athlete out of Tustin, Calif. Stearns owns a summer victory at the Los Angeles City Junior Championship while also placing third at the 2024 AJGA Clovis CVB Championship.