ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Following a career round, Edan Cui’s first round performance led the Stanford men’s golf team through 18 holes of action at the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate on Friday. Through the first round, Stanford sits at 3-over as a team, slotting in 12th overall.
Cui, who entered the afternoon having not shot sub-70 in his collegiate career, hit the turn toward the front nine at 1-under par courtesy of a birdie in a par–5 hole 18. The freshman then littered the leaderboard with four bogeys on his final six holes including ending the round on consecutive birdies to earn his first round in the 60’s, turning in a 5-under, 67 performance that saw him slot tied for fourth heading into Saturday’s round.
Nathan Wang also shot well during Friday’s first round, turning in a 2-under, 70 card. Wang, who tallied consecutive birdies on his second and third holes of the day, held suit through the back nine before hitting the turn at 2-under. Wang then continued his solid streak of play along the front nine, following a bogey in hole seven with a birdie on the next hole to end the day at 2-under and sit inside the top-20 in a tie for 15th.
The back nine, however, had its ups and downs through the Stanford lineup with Ethan Gao - who made his season debut - and Jay Leng battling the opening stretch and hitting the turn with identical 3-over, 75 cards. However, both golfers battled through the round, amassing four combined birdies to finish as the final two scorers for the Cardinal at 4-over and 6-over, respectively.
Making his tournament debut for Stanford, Cooper Stearns shot well along the front nine, earning two birdies including one immediately following the turn on a par-5 hole 1. Stearns finished the round at 7-over and currently sits tied for 68th. Golfing as Stanford’s independent entry, Dean Greyserman followed a 2-over back nine with four birdies along the front nine to finish the day at 1-over and tied for 39th.
Stanford is back in action for round two from the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate on Saturday morning, teeing off from hole one at 9 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT.