WOODSIDE, Calif. — The two Stanford golf programs teamed up Thursday for the annual Big Match against California golf, hosted at Menlo Country Club. The event was played for the seventh time, and for the first time in its history, this was a “rubber match,” with the series tied at 3-3. Despite California starting strong, Stanford rallied on the back nine to finish with a clean sweep and a 4-0 victory over their cross-Bay rivals.
The first match to go final was Edan Cui and Meja Örtengren, and as with many other Cardinal matches, they flipped it on the back nine. They were down two at the turn, but then Örtengren birdied 10 and 11 to get the match back even. Örtengren was the star of the show after the turn, knocking down six birdies over her final eight holes to help bring her and Cui to a 2up advantage. Cui was strong as well, with three birdies over the final five holes. It was a Cui birdie on 17 that helped halve that hole, and Stanford got its first point on the board.
In real time, it was about two minutes later that Stanford got its second point, courtesy of Giovanni Binaghi and Andrea Revuelta. They were down one hole through eight but again found their footing around the turn. Revuelta birdied three of the next four holes to put the Cardinal 2up, and then it was Binaghi who helped seal the deal. He birdied on 14 and 16 to wrap it up 4&2 and did so in stellar style. On the par-3 16th hole, his first shot wrapped around the cup, nearly sinking it for a hole-in-one, which would have been the second by a Cardinal in Big Match history. Still, it resulted in a conceded birdie and a win for Stanford.
The final points Stanford put on the board also came within moments of each other, on different parts of the course. Carlo Roman and Nora Sundberg were briefly down two holes through three but quickly flipped it to a lead by the ninth green. Both played well on Thursday: Sundberg knocked down five birdie putts, and Roman had seven, including the last two holes that locked up the match. Stanford won the final three holes to put that match away 5&4.
Back on 18, it was Jay Leng and Nikki Oh who clinched it for the Cardinal, the only group to see the 18th hole. That was the only match that seemed to go off a different script, too; Stanford led early and then trailed most of the rest of the match. It wasn’t until an Oh birdie on 14 that evened up the score, and then she added her last birdie of the day on 17 to put Stanford 1up. Oh and Leng were able to halve 18, which California needed to secure a half-point, and Stanford clinched the overall win.
Both programs are in action over the next couple of weeks. The men head to Fort Worth, Texas, for the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational, taking place on Sept. 28-29. The women are headed to Illinois for the Windy City Collegiate on Oct. 5-6. Of the current roster, only Sundberg played in this event last year.
Stanford 4, California 0
- Jay Leng / Nikki Oh (STAN) vs. Ziqin Zhou / Giselle Zhao (CAL), 1up
- Edan Cui / Meja Örtengren (STAN) vs. Sihao Cong / Jasmine Kahler (CAL), 2&1
- Giovanni Binaghi / Andrea Revuelta (STAN) vs. Graham Christopher / Claudia Lara Miravitiles (CAL), 4&2
- Trevor Cox / Michelle Woo (CAL) vs. Cooper Stearns / Kaila Elsayegh (STAN), 1up thru 15
- Carlo Roman / Nora Sundberg (STAN) vs. Charlie Bundy / Zoe Jiamanukookit (CAL), 5&4
- Judd Jirovsky / Anna Song (STAN) vs. Matthew Miyamoto / Camila Zignaigo-Saldarriga, 4up thru 13
- Daniel Zou / Paula Martín Sampedro (STAN) vs. Callixte Alzas / Constance Fouillet (CAL), 1up thru 13
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 5, 1