Off To Olympia Fields

STANFORD, Calif. — Embarking on its first of three-straight tournaments to end the month of September, Stanford men’s golf is back in action for another bout at the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational from Friday, September 18 through Sunday, September 20. 

THE COURSE » The OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational once again returns to Olympia Fields Country Club with the caveat of beginning play on the South Course for the first time in the tournament’s history following renovations on the North Course. The South Course plays as a 7.215 yard, par-70 track that has hosted numerous championships and poses substantial challenges for this season’s field of golfers. 

THE FIELD » This season’s 15 team field includes three teams ranked inside the top 10 final SCOREBOARD by Clippd rankings, headlined by No. 4 Florida. No. 5 Oklahoma State follows as well as No. 6 Texas Tech, No. 7 LSU and No. 13 Stanford. 

Following the Cardinal is No. 14 Pepperdine, No. 15 Arizona State, hosts No. 17 Illinois, No. 19 Alabama, No. 21 Texas A&M, No. 25 Georgia Tech, No. 30 Florida State, No. 46 UNLV, No. 50 Northwestern and Baylor. 

TOURNAMENT FORMAT » The 54-hole tournament will be played under the play five, keep four format over three days. Tee times for Rounds 1 and 2 begin at 8 a.m. local time from holes 1 and 10 in a wave start. Tee times for Sunday’s third round begin at 7:30 a.m. local time. The Cardinal begins the tournament at 9:30 a.m. local time from hole one on Friday, September 18. 

THE CARDINAL LINEUP » Stanford rolls out another fresh lineup for its second tournament of the season with two Cardinal making their season debut in Jay Leng and Carlo Roman - with the latter earning his first appearance for the Cardinal. Edan Cui sits atop the lineup at No. 1 followed by Leng and Giovanni Binaghi at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Cooper Stearns slots in at No. 4 while Roman makes his debut at No. 5. Daniel Zou serves as Stanford’s individual for the tournament. 

STANFORD AT OLYMPIA FIELDS » The Cardinal has historically found success at Olympia Fields, having the most individual medalists of any program in tournament history with six: Patrick Rodgers (2011-12), Cameron Wilson (2013), Maverick McNealy (2014-15), and Michael Thorbjornsen (2022). 

Stanford has also brought home a pair of team titles in the event, winning the tournament in 2011 and 2022 as one of only five teams to win multiple Fighting Illini Invitational titles. Jay Leng returns as the top finisher from the Cardinal contingency a season ago as the Cardinal claimed 11th overall. 

LIVE SCORING » Live scoring for the OFCC/Fighting Illini Invitational will be available on Scoreboard by Clippd with live coverage of the event on Twitter and Instagram at @StanfordMGolf.

DZ’S TOP FIVE DEBUT » Daniel Zou led the way for the Cardinal in his Stanford debut, placing tied for fourth at the Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate in early September. Zou, who rattled off three-straight sub-70 rounds, earned his best collegiate performance at 14-under, 202, to place as Stanford’s highest finisher. Stanford claimed fourth overall at 37-under for the tournament with Zou joining freshmen Judd Jirovsky and Giovanni Binaghi as the trio of Cardinal who made their collegiate debut.

PRESEASON PRAISE » Junior Jay Leng reeled in the preseason accolades as the San Diego native was tabbed a Golf Channel and Golfweek First Team Preseason All-American heading into the 2026-27 campaign.  Leng was also tabbed to the 2026-27 Haskins Award presented by Stifel Preseason Watch List, becoming the first Cardinal to be named to the watch list since Michael Thorbjornsen and Karl Vilips were named to the list before the 2023-24 season. 

As a sophomore, Leng posted a 70.96 scoring average over 36 rounds and was named both PING All-West Region and All-ACC. The San Diego, Calif., native also posted 11 top-20 finishes and placed inside the top 10 on four occasions during the 2025-26 season as he currently ranks No. 12 in the latest WAGR Rankings. 

THE SUMMER OF JAY » Jay Leng had a summer to remember as he embarks on his junior campaign on The Farm. Having secured the win at The Western Amateur, Leng accrued enough points with a runner-up finish at the Northeast Amateur and a fifth place outing at the Southern Amateur to grab the 2026 Elite Amateur Cup Title, a series that combines WAGR performance points through the seven men’s amateur championships into a standings-based race. 

With the win, Leng secured multiple PGA TOUR and 2027 U.S. Open Championships Final Qualifying exemptions. For his prowess this summer, Leng was also named to the 10-golfer squad for the 2026 U.S. Walker Cup team and will compete at the 51st Walker Cup at Lahinch in the Republic of Ireland this weekend. 

FRESH FACES » The Cardinal welcomes four new golfers to the squad for the 2026-27 season including a mix of domestic and international talent. Giovanni Binaghi and Carlo Roman join the Cardinal after stellar domestic careers in Italy. Roman ended the summer session having been a semifinalist at the R&A Boys Amateur Championship. 

Domestically, the Cardinal welcomes Judd Jirovsky for his freshman season as the multi-sport athlete comes to The Farm as a multi-time Iowa State Champion in golf and football. The Cardinal also welcomes Daniel Zou from Rice University as a highly-touted transfer that earned the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Freshman of the Year in 2025 while being named All-Conference in both of his seasons with the Owls.