Stanford men’s golf spent three days battling the elements in the Pacific Northwest at the Bandon Dunes Championship this week. Led by sophomore Barclay Brown, the Cardinal improved its position in the tournament each round, ultimately finishing in a tie for sixth.
Brown opened the week on a strong note, posting a two-under-par 69 in his first round at Bandon Trails. Brown made a trio of birdies to go against just one bogey. Freshman Karl Vilips played a rollercoaster of a round on day one. He made a team-high six birdies, but also had five bogeys and a double bogey in his round of 72. Junior Ethan Ng and fifth year David Snyder chipped in rounds of 73 and 75, respectively, as the Cardinal finished the day in ninth place out of 14 teams.
In the second round, the Cardinal improved its team score by two shots and moved into eighth place. Ng went bogey-free in his last 12 holes to shoot a one-under-par 70. Brown continued his solid play with an even-par 71, while Snyder shot a one-over-par 72. Freshman Jake Beber-Frankel, making his collegiate debut, posted the last counting score for the Cardinal, a three-over-par 74. When the day ended, the Cardinal had shot a three-over-par 287 as a team.
In the third and final round, the Cardinal once again shot 287 and managed to move past two teams into a tie for sixth place. Brown put the finishing touches on a solid week of golf with his second 69 of the tournament. He ended in a tie for fifth place as an individual to be the lowest Cardinal finisher in the tournament. Snyder also broke 70 on Tuesday, shooting 69 to snag a tie for 16th place.
Stanford finished at 11-over-par for the three-day event, 27 shots off of the University of San Francisco’s pace. The Dons won the tournament by a remarkable 21 shots. Fresno State’s junior Tommy Stephenson took home the individual title with a score of eight-under-par for the three rounds.
The Cardinal will be off for the next two weeks before returning home to host The Goodwin at the Stanford Golf Course. The last time the tournament was held, in 2019, the Cardinal won by 18 shots. Stanford men’s golf will look to repeat at The Goodwin, which starts on March 25.