STANFORD, Calif. — Stanford men’s golf begins the 2026-27 campaign next week with a quick trip to Chandler, Az., as the Cardinal competes at the Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate, hosted by the University of Southern California, from September 7-8.
THE COURSE » The Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate takes place at Whirlwind Golf Club in 2026 with two courses created by the mind of Gary Panks being possible playing destinations for this season’s event. Players will embark on a par-72, 7,222 yard layout for this season’s tournament with both courses providing a sense of “fairness and playability” while emulating the surrounding scenery with its gradual elevation changes and multi-tiered greens.
THE FIELD » This season’s 12 team field includes three teams ranked in the final SCOREBOARD by Clippd rankings including Stanford who finished the highest of the cohort at No. 14 in the nation.
The teams competing over the two-day tournament include Arkansas State, UTEP, Louisiana-Monroe, Cal, New Mexico State, Fresno State, Santa Clara, Baylor, Washington State, James Madison, Eastern Michigan, Stanford and hosts USC.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT » The 54-hole tournament will be played under the play five, keep four format over two days. Tee times for Rounds 1 and 2 on Monday, September 7 begin with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. PT while Tuesday’s final round is slated for a shotgun start at 7:45 a.m. PT.
THE CARDINAL LINEUP » Stanford rolls out a fresh lineup to begin the 2026-27 campaign with sophomore Edan Cui leading the charge for the Cardinal. Giovanni Binaghi, Daniel Zou and Judd Jirovsky will make thier Cardinal debuts on Monday while Cooper Stearns joins Cui as the lone returners for the season opener.
STANFORD AT BOMBS DARTS BIRDS COLLEGIATE » This week’s tournament is the first time the Cardinal will open the season down in Arizona after having spent the better part of the last decade opening the season in Illinois.
LIVE SCORING » Live scoring for the Bombs Darts Birds Collegiate will be available on Scoreboard by Clippd with live coverage of the event on Twitter and Instagram at @StanfordMGolf.
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.