Royal Oaks Intercollegiate 2013 - Photo slideshow

Thanks to Sandy McCall '72 for these photos that we were able to compile into a slideshow...

2013-14 Fall Arrival Qualifying Tournament - September 7-9, 2013

9/9/13 - Round 3

Cameron Wilson, who you may remember tied the low round record of 61 held by Tiger Woods, has reaffirmed his affinity with his 61 venue course Cordevalle! He shot a round of 64 (-8) today and won the 2013 Fall Arrival Qualifying tournament. It has earned him a spot on the traveling team roster who depart for Chicago tomorrow.

Here is the full traveling lineup:

Patrick Rodgers
Cameron Wilson
David Boote
Patrick Grimes
Dominick Francks
(Follow the team via live scoring on GolfStat here >>)

The team was decided by adding Patrick Rodgers to the top four scores from this Fall Arrival Qualifying Tournament.

Final cumulative total Scores:

1. Cameron Wilson - 69 71 64 = 204 (-10)

2. David Boote - 66 70 71 = 207 (-7)

3. Patrick Grimes - 71 73 70 = 214 (E)

4. Dominick Francks - 70 73 72 = 215 (+1)

5. Maverick McNealy - 71 79 68 = 218 (+4)

6. Viraat Badhwar - 76 70 76 = 222 (+8)

7. Shane Lebow - 70 75 80 = 225 (+11)

8. Keegan English - 73 80 73 = 226 (+12)

9. Jim Liu - 70 80 77 = 227 (+13)

Here are the scores of the day at Cordevalle in Round 3:

1. Cameron Wilson - 64 (-8)

2. Maverick McNealy - 68 (-4)

3. Patrick Grimes - 70 (-2)

4. David Boote - 71 (-1)

5. Dominick Francks - 72 (E)

6. Keegan English - 73 (+1)

7. Viraat Badhwar - 76 (+4)

8. Jim Liu - 77 (+7)

9. Shane Lebow - 80 (+8)

9/8/13 - Round 2

David Boote extends his lead in the Fall Arrival Qualifying tournament with a 70 (-2) at The Cal Club. He was tied for low round of the day by Viraat Badhwar. Viraat's 70 (-2) has brought him back into the mix with all to play for tomorrow in the third and final round at Cordevalle. Just 50 minutes south of Stanford, Cordevalle is a tremendous course that will host the USGA Senior Women's Amateur Championship on September 21-26 and the Frys.com Open on October 10-13.

Here are the scores of the day:

1= David Boote - 70 (-2)

1= Viraat Badhwar - 70 (-2)

3. Cameron Wilson - 71 (-1)

4= Dominick Francks - 73 (+1)

4= Patrick Grimes - 73 (+1)

6. Shane Lebow - 75 (+3)

7. Maverick McNealy - 79 (+7)

8= Jim Liu - 80 (+8)

8= Keegan English - 80 (+8)

And here are the cumulative totals:

1. David Boote - 66 70 = 136 (-6)

2. Cameron Wilson - 69 71 = 140 (-2)

3. Dominick Francks - 70 73 = 143 (+1)

4. Patrick Grimes - 71 73 = 144 (+2)

5. Shane Lebow - 70 75 = 145 (+3)

6. Viraat Badhwar - 76 70 = 146 (+4)

7= Maverick McNealy - 71 79 = 150 (+8)

7= Jim Liu - 70 80 = 150 (+8)

9. Keegan English - 73 80 = 153 (+11)

9/7/13 - Round 1

David Boote takes the early lead with a fine round of 66 at Stanford Golf Course.

Here are the scores:

1. David Boote - 66 (-4)
2. Cameron Wilson - 69 (-1)
3= Jim Liu - 70 (E)
3= Shane Lebow - 70 (E)
3= Dominick Francks - 70 (E)
6= Maverick McNealy - 71 (+1)
6= Patrick Grimes - 71 (+1)
8. Keegan English - 73 (+3)
9. Viraat Badhwar - 76 (+6)

Tomorrow afternoon the squad will play The Cal Club in Round 2.

Nearest the pin...

Jim Liu hits his iron approach to about 12 feet on hole 14 at Stanford Golf Course.

Meanwhile, Team USA have taken the lead in the Walker Cup 8-4. In the morning Foursomes, Patrick Rodgers and Justin Thomas beat Gavin Moynihan and Kevin Phelan 2&1. In the afternoon singles, Patrick lost his match to Gavin Moynihan by 2 holes despite being one of the lower overall medal round scores!


9/6/13 - Check-in Day

The Team are back together again ready to hit the ground running this Fall.

Welcome to our Freshmen: Viraat Badhwar, Maverick McNealy and Jim Liu...

Round 1 of our annual Fall Arrival Qualifying Tournament starts tomorrow (9/7/13). Here are the teetimes:

10.30 am - Cameron Wilson, Keegan English, Maverick McNealy
10.40 am - Patrick Grimes, Jim Liu, Dominick Francks
10.50 am - Viraat Badhwar, David Boote, Shane Lebow

Coach Ray previews the season ahead

In case you didn't catch it previously, here is Coach Ray with a preview of what lies ahead...

The team checks in for their first meeting on Friday 9/6/13 and Qualifying for our first event, The Fighting Illini Invitational over the North Course at Olympia Fields (September 13-15), begins right away. Patrick Rodgers will be looking for three consecutive wins in this tournament but will no doubt have some stiff competition from a very strong field of players and not least from his own teammates who have also played very good golf this summer.

Check in at www.stanfordmensgolf.org for updates on our qualifying competition and don't forget to cheer on Patrick who represents the United States in the Walker Cup this weekend.

Walker Cup facts and scoring here >>

Article at GolfWeek here >>

The Palmer Cup 2013 - Rodgers and Rowe represent the Cardinal but wear different colors!

The Enlight Foundation Assistant Coach For Men's Golf, Philip Rowe, writes Daily Updates from Wilmington Country Club, Delaware, venue for the 17th annual...

The Palmer Cup is a Ryder Cup style match that brings together some of the worlds best amateurs who are studying for university degrees. The top 10 Americans will play against their European counterparts later this week with Fourball and Singles matches on Friday June 7th and Singles matches on Saturday June 8th and Sunday June 9th. A total of 30 points are up for grabs in what promises to be a thrilling match. The USA leads the series 8-7-1.

Adding spice to this years event, at least from a Cardinal perspective, is that we have a representative on each team.

Patrick Rodgers (Rising Junior), pictured above, will be playing for Team USA.

Philip Rowe, pictured above, is the Assistant Coach for Team Europe.

During the course of the daily blog I will be able to give more detail upon the venue, cup history and players on both sides. For now you can check out the teams and delve into other information via the Palmer Cup website.

Sunday June 9th - Team USA secure a resounding victory

20.5 - 9.5 Final Score

Photos from all four rounds are now up on the Palmer Cup Website >>

Mr. Arnold Palmer, Wilmington C.C. and the GCAA are owed a huge debt of gratitude for their support and passion that affords student-athletes this great opportunity for international competition. Rendez-vous in 2014 at Walton Heath in Surrey, UK for the next edition.

For the afternoon Singles Match scores click here >>

Just for a brief while early in the afternoon session of singles the scoreboard looked mostly blue and there was a glimmer of a chance that a miracle might happen. That light was snuffed out however within the first two matches when Kevin Phelan had to win the last hole to earn a half point from Bobby Wyatt and then Cory Whitsett, one of the USA's most dominant players of the week, closed out Scott Fernandez bringing up the 15.5 points require to regain the Cup on home soil. Likewise down the order, the Europeans hopes were crumbled by sustained solid play from the American team. Stanford's Patrick Rodgers played an impressively tight game to ensure his team's emphatic victory.

At the closing ceremony, both captains Seawell and Coltart praised players for sportsmanlike way in which the matches were conducted. Team USA member James Erkenbeck of New Mexico was voted recipient of the Michael Carter Award by the Europeans and Team Europe player Pedro Figueiredo was his voted recipient by the Americans.

For the morning Foursome Match scores click here >>

The story of the morning session belonged to an incredible feat of courage for Pedro Figueiredo. There was much doubt as to whether the UCLA senior from Portugal would even play since a freak foot injury saw him rushed to A&E at 6am prior to the teetimes. Adamant not to concede even another half point to the Americans, Pedro teamed up with fellow UCLA senior Pontus Widegren from Sweden to battle hard against Patrick Rodgers and Justin Thomas who were gunning for maximum points in their Palmer Cup campaign. Standing on the 18th green with blood oozing through his tennis shoe

Saturday June 8th - Team USA take a commanding lead after fourball and singles matches

Play resumed at 7.30am from the spot where the rain storm halted it a day prior. Team USA quickly pressed the advantage and red numbers (indicating a Team USA lead) was a trend that was to continue throughout the day.

It has been a long day so I will direct you to the following links to tell the story:

Match synopsis >>

Photos >>

Rising Junior, Patrick Rodgers had a very good day as he teamed up with Justin Thomas for a handsome 5&3 win in the  morning fourball and then closed out Team Europe's highest rank player, Julien Brun from France, 4&3.

Coach Rowe had less fun as he, Captain Coltart and the European Team poured in effort and some grittiness for just the one win and five half points. Team USA was too strong and had the run of the ball for today. Here's hoping for a "Miracle at Medinah" type scenario tomorrow... and then some!

Third Round Foursomes Pairings 

Game 16: Cory Whitsett/Bobby Wyatt, USA vs. Gary Hurley/Kevin Phelan, Europe

Game 17: Patrick Rodgers/Justin Thomas, USA vs. Pedro Figueiredo/Pontus Widegren, Europe

Game 18: Alex Carpenter/Michael Kim, USA vs. Julien Brun/Joel Stalter, Europe

Game 19: Daniel Berger/Sean Dale, USA vs. Sebastian Cappelen/Greg Eason, Europe

Game 20: James Erkenbeck/Michael Weaver, USA vs. Scott Fernandez/Ben Taylor, Europe

livescoring will resume here >>


Friday June 7th - Wash-Out

Disappointment for both teams today since heavy rain made it impossible to play.

Let's hope for better luck tomorrow. Both teams are chomping at the bit to play the match on such a great course. The greenkeepers and staff at Wilmington C.C. must be thanked for all the extra effort they have gone to in the face of the deluge.

The plan is to finish session 1 Fourballs tomorrow morning then jump ahead to session 3 singles in the afternoon leaving session 2 Foursomes and session 4 singles (36 holes) to be played on Sunday.

From 7.30am EST, livescoring will resume here >>


Thursday June 6th - College-Am Day

Let's start with the highlight of the day... The teams were able to meet, chat and have a photo session with Golfing icon Mr. Arnold Palmer.

Team USA:

 Team Europe:

Mr. Palmer's connection with Wilmington Country Club goes back... "Oh let's not talk about that [many years]", he said in the opening ceremonies as the teams, match dignitaries and sponsors were acknowledged. In 1966 he played an exhibition match with Jack Nicklaus over the South Course and many members present remember the day like yesterday!

Once the final national anthem was played by the event's own trumpeter, David Hooten, the crowd went silent... anxious to hear the announcement of the pairings. One could sense the change in physiology along the line of players, each man feeling butterflies in the stomach as the realization that their next shot would count toward either capturing or retaining the Cup! You may be interested in the line-up pairings for tomorrow so here they are:

Game 1: 7:30 am

Sean Dale/Bobby Wyatt, USA vs. Sebastian Cappelen/Pontus Widegren, Europe

Game 2: 7:45 am

Patrick Rodgers/Justin Thomas, USA vs. Greg Eason/Ben Taylor, Europe

Game 3: 8:00 am

Alex Carpenter/Cory Whitsett, USA vs. Julien Brun/Joel Stalter, Europe

Game 4: 8:15 am

Daniel Berger/James Erkenbeck, USA vs. Scott Fernandez/Pedro Figueiredo, Europe

Game 5: 8:30 am

Michael Kim/Michael Weaver, USA vs. Gary Hurley/Kevin Phelan, Europe

Play away please gentlemen!!!

In other news today, Pedro Figueiredo was part of the winning team in the college-am.

Continue to follow live updates, scores and comments via www.palmercup.org , @PalmerCup , @PalmerCupEurope , @AndrewColtart , @jcwellbamagolf


Wednesday June 5th - Practice Day

Wilmington Golf and Country Club [picture of clubhouse] has two courses: the North designed by Dick Wilson and the South designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr. The Palmer Cup matches will be played over the South Course. Take a tour of the course to see the signature course set in beautiful Delaware countryside. The club has hosted multiple USGA Amateur Championships.

Our day commenced with an 8.30am "Caddie Draw" where players were called forward to pick their caddie's name from a hat. All caddie's are fine players in the State of Delaware and members of the junior academy at Wilmington C.C. Next we teed off for the practice rounds. There were apparent differing strategies from team USA and Europe with the former opting for informal matches among themselves whilst the visiting team took a walk of the course taking notes and measuring distances/green slopes. Both teams found the course in pristine condition with well defined fairways, fairly hefty rough and fast sloped greens. It will provide an excellent challenge.


In the early evening there was a Junior Clinic where players demonstrated technique, ball trajectory control, power drives and performed a few trick-shots. A poster signing session (picture) followed before we got suited up for a hosted dinner with the USGA and R&A along with various other dignitaries from the Palmer Cup and golf club hosts. After dinner there was also an opportunity to meet and listen to inspiring stories from Major Dan Rooney of the Folds of Honor Foundation.


All in all it was a long but action packed day. Clinics, media, signing sessions and formal dinners is all part of the training for budding tour professionals and the Palmer Cup players handle it all admirably. Likewise there is a full agenda for tomorrow with a College-Am, Opening Ceremony and reception with Arnold Palmer himself. Those players who attend Universities on the quarter system (like Stanford and UCLA) must really tap into their student-athlete discipline to find time to study for exams or complete papers in amongst the week's program!

The matches are just 24 hours away. Send your messages of support for the teams via @PalmerCup or @PalmerCupEurope !


Tuesday June 4th - Travel Day

All players have arrived and checked into the hotel. We had a very informal cookout / get together by the tennis courts at Wilmington Country Club this evening:

Everyone appeared in great spirits and not least Team USA Head Coach Jay Seawell who's Alabama team claimed the NCAA Golf Championship last weekend. He has three of his Crimson Tide players (Bobby Wyatt, Justin Thomas and Cory Whitsett) playing for him this week.

Patrick's flight was the last to arrive into Philadelphia on either team so I have not yet had a chance to have that first handshake of the week. There are rumors that he may have had a haircut so stay tuned to see how that turned out!http://www.palmercup.org/

Coach Ray - Video Blog

The Spring Season is Underway!

Dear Cardinal Faithful,

It has been a few months since I have had a chance to post on my blog but glad to be back!

There are some great updates on the team's first event in Hawaii last week as well as notes on our upcoming events that can be found at www.stanfordmensgolf.org and www.facebook.com/stanfordmensgolf. Congrats to senior Steven Kearney with his top-5 finish which is the best of his career to date carrying the Stanford bag! Next up is the Prestige at PGA West and the guys are hungry to get down there to compete for the trophy.

In other news, we are especially excited about Andrew Yun being back on the Farm after being gone Fall Quarter. Andrew was away to try his hand at the PGA Q-School. The Tour allows amateurs to qualify while not giving up their amateur status and with Andrew's plans to turn pro at some point down the road, he decided to give it a try. He played well but came up a bit short and thus he is back to lead us again this spring. His leadership and ability will be huge for the team as we move forward. The fact that he will get his Stanford degree in the end is the best news of all!

On the home front, things have been busy too. We have been working diligently behind the scenes on plans for a new practice facility upgrade. Stanford University will be building a new Central Energy Plant on land that was formerly used as part of our practice area thus we adapt the remaining space to accommodate our needs. We are calling the new space the Siebel Varsity Golf Training Complex version 2.0! We will be sure to share the final plans when everything comes together but things look very exciting for the future. Training at a high level in golf has taken on a whole new meaning in the last five years in terms of technology, space, and facilities, and with v 2.0 of the Siebel Complex we hope to set the bar once again. Thanks to all of the supporters of the project!

Finally, I wanted to recognize the recent news of Tom Watson being named the Ryder Cup Captain in 2014 at Gleneagles. Tom was gracious to spend a few hours with the team last week in Hawaii.

As a Cardinal Alum, Tom has been an amazing ambassador for the game of golf and our program for many years. His captaincy is well deserved and The Ryder Cup on European soil will be a can't miss! Congrats to Tom Watson and Go Cardinal!

Until next time....

Coach Ray