STANFORD, Calif. – Leading wire-to-wire, No. 12 Stanford made the most of its home course advantage by winning the NCAA Stanford Regional on Wednesday at rainy Stanford Golf Course.
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The victory was the fourth in a row by clicking second-seeded Cardinal, securing a spot in the NCAA Championships, May 24-29, at Blessings Golf Club in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It will be Stanford's 12th trip in the last 15 years.
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The last time the Cardinal won four-consecutive tournaments was in 2013-14. Coming into the regional, the Cardinal prevailed at The Goodwin, the Western Intercollegiate and Pac-12 Championships.
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In its last four starts, the Cardinal is an accumulative 48-under.
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"We're happy that we picked up our fourth win a row and we just want to keep this momentum going," said
Conrad Ray, the Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf. "Now anything is possible when you get a ticket to the big show."
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Stanford started the final round with a 10-stroke advantage, but Ray knew it wouldn't be easy.
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"You do this long enough and you see crazy stuff happen," he said. "North Carolina got off to a hot start. But our guys hung in there and they kept fighting. All year we've played well on the back nine."
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Stanford closed with a field-best 8-under-par 272 to finish the 54-hole, 13-team regional at 23-under 817. It was the sixth regional crown for the Cardinal, who previously won in 1996, 2010, 2014, 2016 and 2017.
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Arizona State and North Carolina tied for second at 11-under 829, while Georgia Southern claimed fourth and LSU placed fifth. All advance to the NCAA Championships.
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Kyler Dunkle of Utah earned the individual spot.
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In all, 30 teams and six individuals from six regional sites qualified for the NCAA Championships.
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Cardinal senior
Isaiah Salinda, competing on his home course for the last time, earned medalist honors for the second time in a month. He shot rounds of 67-68-68 to conclude at 10-under 200. Salinda scored his first victory collegiate triumph last month at the Western Intercollegiate.
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"Perfect way to end it," Salinda said.
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Salinda broke a three-way with back-to-back birdies at the par-4 15th and par-5 16th holes. He made an eight-footer at 15, then flushed a 221-yard 4-iron on the green with his second shot at 16 and nearly made the 12-foot eagle putt.
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"It was kind of tough day with the conditions and I knew it wouldn't be easy," he said. "To finish strong like that feels really good."
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Salinda snapped a three-way tie with back-to-back birdies at the par-4 15th and par-5 16th holes. He made an eight-footer at 15, then flushed a 221-yard 4-iron on the green with his second shot at 16 and just missed a 12-foot eagle putt.
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"I didn't do any one thing particularly great," said Salinda. "Everything was really solid. I drove it well and when I was out of position, I was able to save pars and keep the momentum going."
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Junior
David Snyder secured his third top-10 in his last four starts by tying for second, posting scores of 67-68-68 to finish at 7-under 203. He was runner-up at The Goodwin in late March.
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Senior
Brandon Wu continued his stellar play and tied for sixth. He shot rounds of 68-67-69 to wind up at 6-under 204 and has finished in the top-10 in five-of-his-last-six starts and hasn't finished lower than 11th.
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Junior
Henry Shimp recorded his best round of the week with a 68 and shared 43rd with freshman
Daulet Tuleubayev (74) at 6-over 216.
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For the third straight round, Stanford got the start it wanted, as three players birdied the par-5 first hole.
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