This year in Pac-12 men's golf

WALNUT CREEK, Calif.-- The STANFORD Cardinal, led by Patrick Rodgers and Cameron Wilson, roared through the spring winning five times in the last six tournaments, including the Pac-12 Championship, and then posted the low score in the NCAA Championship to earn the No. 1 seed in the eight-team match play format. The Cardinal bowed out in the national semifinals, but it was a season to remember on The Farm.

 

While Wilson took home the coveted medalist honors at the NCAA Championship with his 6-under 204, the third ever by a Cardinal, it was Rodgers who piled up the victories and hardware during the 2014 season. For the year, Rodgers won six events, including five of the last seven, to give him a school-record tying 11 career victories to match former Cardinal Tiger Woods. In terms of recognition, he was tabbed the Pac-12 Golfer of the Year, earned first team PING All-America honors and was named recipient of the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year, the Haskins Award, and the Ben Hogan Award.

 

Stanford won the Pac-12 Championship for the first time in 20 years with a 15-stroke victory over runner-up WASHINGTON at The Gallery Golf Club in Marana, Ariz. The Cardinal became the seventh different Pac-12 team to win the league crown since 2004. Rodgers earned medalist honors with a 7-under 281 to win by two strokes over Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan, and by three strokes over teammate Wilson. 

 

Eight Pac-12 teams entered NCAA regional play, with six Pac-12 teams advancing to the NCAA Championship - CALIFORNIA, OREGON, Stanford, UCLA, USC and Washington, where Stanford and UCLA advanced to match-play. Nine of the 12 member institutions have competed in the NCAA Championship over the last four years.

 

In addition to Rodgers earning Pac-12 Player of the Year, other league honors went to USC’s Rico Hoey, who was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, while Stanford’s Conrad Ray was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year. California’s Brandon Hagy was named the Pac-12 Men’s Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year, and claimed the prestigious Byron Nelson Award that honors a graduating senior where the selection committee considers equally a nominee’s entire collegiate academic and golf career and his character and integrity while in college.

 

First team PING All-America honors were bestowed to Rodgers, Wilson, Hagy and California’s Joel Stalter. Hoey received third team honors. Honorable Mention honors went to Arizona’s Erik Oja, Arizona State’s Jon Rahm, Stanford’s David Boote, UCLA’s Loren Chans and Jonathan Garrick, USC’s Anthony Paolucci, Washington’s Cheng-Tsung Pan and Jonathan Sanders.

 

Five Pac-12 golfers were tabbed to participate in the 2014 Palmer Cup. Cameron Wilson, Brandon Hagy, and Rico Hoey will represent the United States, while Jon Rahm (Spain) and Erik Oja (Sweden) will represent the European squad. The annual Ryder Cup-style competition will be played June 26-28 at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey, England.