COLUMBUS, Ohio — No. 14 Stanford men’s golf began its 2026 NCAA Championship quest on Monday with three golfers placing in the top 20 through the first round of the NCAA Men’s Golf Columbus Regional. Stanford, which shot 6-over as a team, slots tied for third and sits four shots clear of the advancement line heading into the second round.
Hitting the links first out of the 13-team contingency, Stanford held serve for a majority of the front nine with Edan Cui and Nathan Wang going unblemished into the turn. Wang shot perfect through the front nine while securing two birdies along the back nine, countering bogeys on holes 11 and 16 with birdies on 15 and 18 to snag an even-par outing. Wang currently sits tied for third overall heading into the second round.
Cui, meanwhile, rifled one birdie on the day on hole four as he entered the turn 1-under. Competing in his first NCAA Regional, the freshman battled through a troublesome back nine, ending his day at 2-over. Cui slots tied for 20th overall as the third Cardinal to secure a top 20 placement heading into the second round.
Between Cui and Wang on the leaderboard, Jay Leng had a strong outing for the Cardinal , securing two birdies on the day. Leng battled back to an even-par at the turn, hitting a birdie on the par-three hole seven to negate a bogey on his second hole of the day. The sophomore then held strong along the back nine, snatching his final birdie of the day by copying Wang with a birdie on hole 15. Leng slots tied for 11th overall at 1-over.
Ethan Gao and Dean Greyserman both shot well during Monday’s opening round to help put Stanford into advancement position. Gao battled through a 5-over card entering the turn with three birdies in his final nine holes including a birdie on 18 to end the afternoon. Gao sits tied for 30th overall at 3-over entering Tuesday. Greyserman also shot well despite the scorecard as the senior went 2-over through the front nine before ending his afternoon at 6-over as Stanford’s reserve score.
Stanford is back in action for the second round of the NCAA Columbus Regional on Tuesday, May 19. The Cardinal starts its day with Dean Greyserman teeing off from hole 10 beginning at 8 a.m. ET / 5 a.m. PT.