College Golf

BIG WIN FOR STANFORD MEN

The fifth-ranked Stanford Men’s Golf Team is trying to make like the Cardinal’s top-ranked Women’s Team, which is defending NCAA Champion.

The Stanford men came from six strokes down in the final round to win the Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate on the Lakeside Course at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga., against some best team in the nation after winning the Fighting Illini Invitational about a month earlier.

“Getting big wins early in the season is a huge momentum boost for everyone,” said Coach Conrad Ray, who led the Cardinal to the 2019 NCAA Championship. “We realize there is a ton of golf to play, but it’s always good to compete strongly in one of the top fields in college golf on a U.S. Open venue. Top teams make winning a habit and that is what we are hoping to try and establish early on this season.

“Everything was first class and a big thanks to the Golf Club of Georgia staff for all of their efforts. The course was in phenomenal shape and the tournament was run super well.”

Michael Thorbjornsen, a Stanford junior from Wellesley, Mass., is ranked second in the nation after winning the Fighting Illini Invitational and the Golf Club of Georgia Invitational individual titles, in addition to finishing third in the Stephens Cup and seventh in the Ben Hogan Collegiate Invitational.

Stanford also has No. 33 Karl Vilips a junior from Australia who won the Gold Medal in Boys Golf at the 2018 Youth Olympics and who recently was in the hunt in the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship before fading to a tie for 11th, plus No. 56 Ethan Ng and No. 92 Barclay Brown.

No. 16 Pepperdine, the which claimed the 2021 NCAA Championship under Coach Michael Beard, is ranked No. 16 and features No. 10 Derek Hitchner, No. 50 William Mouw and No. 136 Sam Choi.

San Diego State ranks No. 22 in the nation behind No. 61 Shea Lague and No. 171 Youssef Guezaale, Long Beach State is No. 60 with No. 6 Ian Gilligan, while USC is No. 65 thanks to No. 120 Mahanth Chirravuri and No. 152 Jackson Rivera.

The University of San Francisco ranks No. 69 led by No. 244 Benjamin Partridge, the University of California is 71st headed by No. 319 Nathan Wang, Fresno State ranks 94th with No. 85 Matthews Sutherland, and San Jose State is No. 95, as Caleb Shetler at No. 168.

STANFORD CONTINUES TO DOMINATE

Defending NCAA Women’s Champion Stanford and Rose Zhang, the top-ranked women’s amateur in the world, have picked up right where they left off last season.

The top-ranked Cardinal won three of their first four events during the Fall Season, capturing the Carmel Cup, the Big Match against archrival California, and the Stanford Intercollegiate Presented by Dr. Condoleezza Rice, while finishing third in the match-play Stephens Cup.

“You know, everyone says that (we’re the team the beat),” said Stanford Coach Anne Walker, the 2022 NCAA Coach of the Year. “That’s not what we see internally. And I think when you get caught up in the noise and what everyone says around you, that’s typically when things don’t shake out.

“And so, we work really hard (to avoid that). We’re fortunate that we’re in that position that they can say that about us and these young women have earned that right, but at the same time, we work really hard at just staying focused on what we’re doing every day and not listening to the outside noise.”

Zhang, a sophomore from Irvine who won the 2022 NCAA Women’s Individual Championship and the 2020 U.S. U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship, has claimed individual titles in the Carmel Cup and the Stanford Intercollegiate during the Fall Season to give her eight victories in her college career.

“It’s been insane, said Zhang, who claimed the 2022 Annika Award as the best U.S. amateur addition to earning the McCormack Medal as the best women’s amateur in the world each of the last three years. “I’ve just been trying to keep myself as rested and as composed as possible, but there’s obviously a lot of media and stuff going on.

“I’ve just been taking it one day at a time. I’ve been enjoying every single moment, no matter how bad or how rough things were out there. I’m just very proud to be here. … The grind doesn’t stop.”

Stanford also has 13th-ranked Sadie Englemann, No. 20 Megha Ganne and No. 37 Rachel Heck, who was the 2021 NCAA Individual Champion, in the top 50 of the individual rankings.

San Jose State is ranked 11th in the nation, led by Kajsa Arwefjall at No. 40 and Anotnia Malate at No. 47; with USC at No. 13 behind 13th-ranked Amari Avery, No. 70 Cindy Cou and No. 72 Brianna Navarrosa; UCLA at No. 30 led by No. 12 Zoe Campos and No. 83 Ty Akabane; 40th-ranked Pepperdine, which is topped by No. 87 Lion Higo, and No. 48 California, which features No. 179 Jieming Yang.