Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Printable Version
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Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Spiny_Norman - 04-17-2024
We have not really talked about men's golf this year, for good reason. They produced poor results in the fall season while playing without Michael Thorbjornsen (recovering from a stress fracture in his back as well as knee surgery). Stanford started the spring season ranked 59th in the country and quickly fell to 88th following a last place finish in the National Invitational Stroke Play tournament. A team with the #1 ranked played in the country (Thorbjornsen) as well as a Walker Cupper (Barclay Brown) and a 1st team All P12 player (Karl Vilips) was in danger of not qualifying for the postseason.
But things have started to fall into place a bit lately. The Cardinal is up to 38th in the country and is competing at Pasatiempo in the Western Intercollegiate this week. Stanford leads going into the final round which will be televised on The Golf Channel starting at 4 pm Pacific.
You can follow the results here - https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=28593
Coach Conrad Ray has emphasized that winning begets winning. Maybe the team can start to build momentum for the postseason, as they did in 2019 when a 1st place finish at the Western Intercollegiate started a run to the national championship.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - GK3 - 04-18-2024
(04-17-2024, 10:55 AM)Spiny_Norman Wrote: We have not really talked about men's golf this year, for good reason. They produced poor results in the fall season while playing without Michael Thorbjornsen (recovering from a stress fracture in his back as well as knee surgery). Stanford started the spring season ranked 59th in the country and quickly fell to 88th following a last place finish in the National Invitational Stroke Play tournament. A team with the #1 ranked played in the country (Thorbjornsen) as well as a Walker Cupper (Barclay Brown) and a 1st team All P12 player (Karl Vilips) was in danger of not qualifying for the postseason.
But things have started to fall into place a bit lately. The Cardinal is up to 38th in the country and is competing at Pasatiempo in the Western Intercollegiate this week. Stanford leads going into the final round which will be televised on The Golf Channel starting at 4 pm Pacific.
You can follow the results here - https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=28593
Coach Conrad Ray has emphasized that winning begets winning. Maybe the team can start to build momentum for the postseason, as they did in 2019 when a 1st place finish at the Western Intercollegiate started a run to the national championship.
Not a bad showing, a good number of top 25 teams in attendance. Course must have been brutal. At par 70 and 6480 yards, not all that long by todays standards, but all teams finished over par. Teams finishing 2,3,4 and 5, all from the Pac 12 were in double digits over par. Pretty unusual now days for high level college golf.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Mick - 04-18-2024
(04-18-2024, 06:27 AM)GK3 Wrote:(04-17-2024, 10:55 AM)Spiny_Norman Wrote: We have not really talked about men's golf this year, for good reason. They produced poor results in the fall season while playing without Michael Thorbjornsen (recovering from a stress fracture in his back as well as knee surgery). Stanford started the spring season ranked 59th in the country and quickly fell to 88th following a last place finish in the National Invitational Stroke Play tournament. A team with the #1 ranked played in the country (Thorbjornsen) as well as a Walker Cupper (Barclay Brown) and a 1st team All P12 player (Karl Vilips) was in danger of not qualifying for the postseason.
But things have started to fall into place a bit lately. The Cardinal is up to 38th in the country and is competing at Pasatiempo in the Western Intercollegiate this week. Stanford leads going into the final round which will be televised on The Golf Channel starting at 4 pm Pacific.
You can follow the results here - https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=28593
Coach Conrad Ray has emphasized that winning begets winning. Maybe the team can start to build momentum for the postseason, as they did in 2019 when a 1st place finish at the Western Intercollegiate started a run to the national championship.
Not a bad showing, a good number of top 25 teams in attendance. Course must have been brutal. At par 70 and 6480 yards, not all that long by todays standards, but all teams finished over par. Teams finishing 2,3,4 and 5, all from the Pac 12 were in double digits over par. Pretty unusual now days for high level college golf.
It's a tricky course. I played it about 100+ times (my dad is a shareholder there). It isn't long and there are some nasty breaks on the greens. Alister MacKenzie, who designed Augusta National, Cypress Point and about 20 other top golf courses, spent more time working on Pasatiempo than any of his other courses (per his associate John Fleming) and lived adjacent to the sixth fairway.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Spiny_Norman - 04-18-2024
Indeed, Pasatiempo was a great test for players who are used to bomb-and-gouge courses. The fairways are narrow and the greens are very, very tricky. Many different levels, some steep slopes, difficult recovery shots if players miss on the wrong side. Holes were cut in places where you had to be very precise with where you landed your approach shot in order to get it close to the hole. It was fun watching the players try to respond to that challenge.
Stanford did it better than anyone else and won the tournament, their 1st win of the year. Michael Thorbjornsen had a chance to win the individual medal but finished T2. Karl Vilips hit some terrible shots but scrambled like crazy, making a series of 8 to 10 footers for par. A round that could have been 75 was even par 70. That's the kind of play needed in the postseason. You have to be able to score even when not playing your best. The pleasant surprise (and key to the victory) was freshman Ethan Gao who shot a final round 68 and finished 18th overall.
The team now prepares for the Pac 12s, the last conference championship ever. Like the Western Intercollegiate, the P12 tournament is a 6-count 5 affair. Once Stanford starts the postseason at regionals, it will be 5-count 4. Coach Ray might have a tough decision about lineup at regionals if Barclay Brown does not start playing better. He seems to be really struggling. He has not finished in the top 25 in any tournament this season. If Stanford is going to have postseason success, Brown needs to be a contributing factor.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - bbm233 - 04-18-2024
This team is constructed similarly to the 2019 national champions. Two very good/excellent players at the top - Thor and Vilips (vis a vis Salinda and Wu), one veteran who should be solid - Brown (is it too much to think he can fill the Shimp role?), and two random young players. This week leaves me optimistic. A top 3 finish at the Pac 12s would create some excellent momentum, especially if Brown can find his game.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Hulk01 - 04-18-2024
(04-18-2024, 11:49 AM)bbm233 Wrote: This team is constructed similarly to the 2019 national champions. Two very good/excellent players at the top - Thor and Vilips (vis a vis Salinda and Wu), one veteran who should be solid - Brown (is it too much to think he can fill the Shimp role?), and two random young players. This week leaves me optimistic. A top 3 finish at the Pac 12s would create some excellent momentum, especially if Brown can find his game.
Interesting comparison for me, because I've often thought about those 2019 champions. I was certain they had no chance of winning that title. But Wu and Salinda won each of their six matches, which meant we only needed a single win from among Shimp, Brown, and DT in each match to win the title.
Just as with that 2019 team, I've never given this year's team any chance of winning the title. Hope I'm stupidly wrong again.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Spiny_Norman - 04-28-2024
Stanford competed in the Pac 12 tournament this weekend at Desert Forest GC in Carefree, AZ. The golf course must have been set up to be a supreme challenge. ASU won with a 4 round total of +27. Stanford finished 3rd at +44.
But the big news for Stanford is that senior Karl Vilips delivered his finest performance in one of his final tournaments. He has had a solid career at Stanford and has been 1st team All P12. But he had never won a collegiate tournament until today. Behind a final round 68, Vilips held off 2 ASU players to win the final P12 tournament. Congratulations to him!
Stanford will be hosting a regional May 13-15. Last chance to see Vilips, Thorbjornsen and Brown on their home course.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - bbm233 - 04-29-2024
What a strange tournament this weekend. I hear weather was a major factor, but I'm not sure I've ever seen so many Power 5 players put up multiple doubles and triples per round. USC finished 102 over par?!?
Congratulations to Karl Vilips on his first career victory - and a big one at that!
I guess I got what I wanted - a top 3 team finish, continued excellent play from our top 2, and good enough play from the rest. I would really like to see some better consistency from Brown, who started out horribly but played the last 36 at the level the team needs. Guessing it will be those three, Gao and Beber-Frankel at the regionals. But who knows, maybe one of the other guys just consistently goes low on the home course and will get the nod.
No excuses to not advance.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - GK3 - 05-13-2024
(04-29-2024, 04:08 PM)bbm233 Wrote: What a strange tournament this weekend. I hear weather was a major factor, but I'm not sure I've ever seen so many Power 5 players put up multiple doubles and triples per round. USC finished 102 over par?!?First round starts today.
Congratulations to Karl Vilips on his first career victory - and a big one at that!
I guess I got what I wanted - a top 3 team finish, continued excellent play from our top 2, and good enough play from the rest. I would really like to see some better consistency from Brown, who started out horribly but played the last 36 at the level the team needs. Guessing it will be those three, Gao and Beber-Frankel at the regionals. But who knows, maybe one of the other guys just consistently goes low on the home course and will get the nod.
No excuses to not advance.
I haven't played the course for maybe 30 years, used to play it a fair amount when I lived in the area. In an era of courses over 7,000 yards what will be the easiest and hardest holes for the men to play? Do they let the rough grow a lot and how fast are the greens now days. I know it has been through two major alterations in the last 15 years or so. I understand they were mostly changes to bunkers. Is that correct. I am just sort of interested how the course lays out for the power game, or do you just leave your driver in the bag?
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Spiny_Norman - 05-13-2024
Whatever the NCAA tournament committee did to try to challenge the players at Stanford, the top seeded teams rose to the challenge.
Illinois (#3 seed) -17
Florida State (#1 seed) -13
Stanford (#5 seed) -11
Ole Miss (#2 seed) -9
Texas A&M (#4 seed) -9
UCLA (#6 seed) -3
Stanford had a good day that could have been much better. Thorbjornsen leads the team with 65 (-5). Beber-Frankel and Brown both carded 67s (-3). Vilips shot even par 70 and Gao was the drop score at 75.
Thorbjornsen's round included a hole out for an eagle on the 11th (his 2nd hole of the day).
Brown played his best golf of the season but we also saw the problems that have plagued him all year. He shot a bogey-free 31 (-4) on his first nine, then gave it all back on the next 4 holes with a double and 2 bogeys. But he finished strong, with birdies on 3 of the last 4 holes.
Vilips was all over the place. He shot to the top of the leaderboard at -6 after 10 holes. Then he bogeyed 6 of the final 8 holes to fall back to even. When I watched him play at Pasatiempo, he was hitting everything left off the tee. I wonder if he is fighting a recurrence of that.
Texas A&M had 2 aces today! One player aced #4 and another aced #17. The player with the hole in one on 17 followed it up with a quadruple bogey 8 on 18. That will dampen your hole in one celebration.
Scoreboard here - https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=29182
I would welcome a first hand report from anyone able to be there in person.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - 76lsjumb - 05-13-2024
(05-13-2024, 04:29 PM)Spiny_Norman Wrote: Whatever the NCAA tournament committee did to try to challenge the players at Stanford, the top seeded teams rose to the challenge.
Illinois (#3 seed) -17
Florida State (#1 seed) -13
Stanford (#5 seed) -11
Ole Miss (#2 seed) -9
Texas A&M (#4 seed) -9
UCLA (#6 seed) -3
Stanford had a good day that could have been much better. Thorbjornsen leads the team with 65 (-5). Beber-Frankel and Brown both carded 67s (-3). Vilips shot even par 70 and Gao was the drop score at 75.
Thorbjornsen's round included a hole out for an eagle on the 11th (his 2nd hole of the day).
Brown played his best golf of the season but we also saw the problems that have plagued him all year. He shot a bogey-free 31 (-4) on his first nine, then gave it all back on the next 4 holes with a double and 2 bogeys. But he finished strong, with birdies on 3 of the last 4 holes.
Vilips was all over the place. He shot to the top of the leaderboard at -6 after 10 holes. Then he bogeyed 6 of the final 8 holes to fall back to even. When I watched him play at Pasatiempo, he was hitting everything left off the tee. I wonder if he is fighting a recurrence of that.
Texas A&M had 2 aces today! One player aced #4 and another aced #17. The player with the hole in one on 17 followed it up with a quadruple bogey 8 on 18. That will dampen your hole in one celebration.
Scoreboard here - https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=29182
I would welcome a first hand report from anyone able to be there in person.
I didn't see the rest of his round, but I saw Villips bogey #3, #4, and #8 [the three par 3's on his back nine]. In each case, the problem was way too aggressive long putts, leading to missed come backers.
I also got to see the Texas A&M ace on #4. Two bounces and in the hole. As for the other ace on #17, I didn't see it, but I'm guessing the problem was a hole-in-one celebration that maybe wasn't dampened soon enough... :-)
One Illinois golfer was on track for a 59 thru #15, but couldn't keep the birdie train going through the last three holes. Ended with a 63.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Jamesy - 05-14-2024
Men's golf off to a rough start. +5 and down to 5th place. https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=29182
Stabilized a bit to +2 now, tied for 4th with a little more breathing room to 6th (6 strokes).
Down to 6th now with the second worst round of the day so far.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Spiny_Norman - 05-14-2024
Stanford has made it tougher on themselves to qualify for NCAAs. The team posted one of the worst scores of the day and fell 3 spots to 6th place which is below the cut line as SMU moved up. The Cardinal started poorly with a bogey and double bogey on the 1st hole (the easiest on the course). Michael Thorbjornsen, one of the top players in the country, did not record a single birdie for the first 15 holes today. Even so, he is the only Cardinal in the top 25 (14th place).
Stanford will be playing from behind in tomorrow's final round. But they will be paired with the teams they are chasing, SMU and Mississippi.
Illinois -27
Florida State -26
Texas A&M -21
Mississippi -13
SMU -10
-----------------------------------
Stanford -7
UCLA -3
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - GK3 - 05-14-2024
(05-14-2024, 03:07 PM)Spiny_Norman Wrote: Stanford has made it tougher on themselves to qualify for NCAAs. The team posted one of the worst scores of the day and fell 3 spots to 6th place which is below the cut line as SMU moved up. The Cardinal started poorly with a bogey and double bogey on the 1st hole (the easiest on the course). Michael Thorbjornsen, one of the top players in the country, did not record a single birdie for the first 15 holes today. Even so, he is the only Cardinal in the top 25 (14th place).
Stanford will be playing from behind in tomorrow's final round. But they will be paired with the teams they are chasing, SMU and Mississippi.
Illinois -27
Florida State -26
Texas A&M -21
Mississippi -13
SMU -10
-----------------------------------
Stanford -7
UCLA -3
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Lorcan - 05-15-2024
Stanford is within a stroke of 5th as of writing due to Ole Miss starting out +6 on the day, but UCLA is right there in the mix. It should be an interesting finish and if Stanford pulls things together, they can survive and advance.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Lorcan - 05-15-2024
It looks like Stanford will somehow survive and advance. Certainly not an inspiring performance by any means, but after being as low as 7th at times today, Stanford currently sits in 5th with the final berth to nationals in their hands.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Spiny_Norman - 05-15-2024
Scores still to be confirmed, but it looks like Stanford will make it by the slimmest of margins.
Stanford was led by Michael Thorbjornsen who shot a bogey-free 64. With all of the pressure on the line, he made a breaking 3 footer for par on the 9th hole (his final hole of the day) to clinch it.
Barclay Brown finally put together a solid 18 holes, shooting 69 (with no double bogeys) including a critical birdie on the final hole.
Karl Vilips was again all over the place with a double bogey and 5 bogeys. But he made a 50 footer for birdie on 3, chipped in for birdie on 7 and hit it 2 feet for birdie on 9. Clutch!
Coach Ray made a substitution today, replacing Ethan Gao with Sean-Karl Dobson. That did not work out. Dobson shot 77 which was the drop score. Jake Beber-Frankel shot 73 which included 3 bogeys and a double on the par 3s.
Final standings (assuming that the Tracker is accurate)
Illinois -36
Florida State -28
Texas A&M -19
SMU -10
Stanford -10
------------------------------------
SMU Ole Miss -9
Among other P12 teams, Cal, Utah and Arizona are advancing. ASU (the #3 team in the country) is not.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - cardfan77 - 05-15-2024
Barely snuck in. They did have the 2nd lowest score today though.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - Spiny_Norman - 05-15-2024
(05-15-2024, 02:34 PM)cardfan77 Wrote: Barely snuck in. They did have the 2nd lowest score today though.
Thor's 64 a big help there.
RE: Men's Golf Spring 2024 - TooMuchTV - 05-16-2024
(05-15-2024, 02:28 PM)Spiny_Norman Wrote: Final standings (assuming that the Tracker is accurate)
Illinois -36
Florida State -28
Texas A&M -19
SMU -10
Stanford -10
------------------------------------
SMU -9
I guess I'm happy and sad for SMU.
https://youtu.be/oxOOwYDf2tM?si=n5JG2uL-83tirfGn