Stanford after their win at The Goodwin
(Stanford Athletics Photo)
PALO ALTO, CA (April 1, 2017) -- For the first time since 2014 and 15th time overall Stanford has won their own Goodwin Intercollegiate. The Cardinal began the day one shot in front of No. 1 USC but with a 7-under final round at Stanford Golf Course the host team was able to finish 3-under and pull away to win by nine-strokes.
"It was great to pick up the first win of the year against the No. 1 team in the country and a field that included a lot of really good teams," said Stanford head coach Conrad Ray. "More than anything, the guys played the course well. They used some of their home course knowledge to their advantage, and controlled the golf ball pretty well today. We avoided some of the bigger numbers that other teams were fighting."
USC (+6) placed second, No. 17 UNLV (+10) ended up in third, No. 5 Oregon (+14) was fourth and Washington (+20) rounded out the top-five.
During the final round Stanford was led by Franklin Huang and his 4-under 66. Huang finished the week 3-under and in a tie for second place behind medalist winner Rhett Rasmussen of BYU.
On Sunday Huang birdied the opening hole as he set the stage for a six birdie, two bogey day. Huang's most impressive stretch of golf on Sunday came from Nos. 7-11 when he birdied four-times, including three in a row on Nos. 7, 8 and 9.
Maverick McNealy ended up settling for seventh place after he shot a final day 2-over 72 to finish even-par while Viraat Badhwar in a tie for eighth at 1-over rounded out the Stanford contingent in the top-10.
"We've been knocking on the door a lot this year and continued to work hard," said Ray. "To get some reward for that hard work will hopefully give us momentum heading into the final stretch of the season."
Medalist winner Rhett Rasmussen picked up the first win of his freshman season. Rasmussen had been knocking on the door previously finishing in the top-six three other times, including in his last start at the Stockton Pacific Invitational where he shared second.
Beginning the day in the lead, Rasmussen had to hold off a talented field and that possibility seemed in doubt as he made the turn in 1-over 36.
Needing a strong back nine Rasmussen delivered with two birdies (Nos. 1 and 4) while bogeying just once. The bogey on the closing nine came on the 5th hole but it didn't faze Rasmussen as he played par golf the remainder of the way.
Joining Huang in second place at 3-under was Harry Hall (UNLV), Ryan Gronlund (Oregon) was fourth at 2-under while John Oda (UNLV) and Sean Crocker (USC) shared fifth at 1-under.
-Stanford Athletics contributed to this story
ABOUT THE
The Goodwin
54 hole men's college tournament hosted by
Stanford University that honors former Stanford head coach Wally Goodwin, who elevated the program during his tenure of 1987 to 2000 by recruiting players like Notah Begay and Tiger Woods. Team (best four scores out of
five
players each round) and individual competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information