FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Stanford improved four strokes and maintained second place on Saturday after two rounds of the NCAA Championships at Blessings Golf Club in the Ozark.
The Cardinal fired a 1-under 287 and has a two-day total of 2-over 578. No. 1 Oklahoma State moved into first place by shooting 12-under and is at 10-under 566. Texas A&M is third at 7-over 583.
"Any time you can get around this course in under par as a team, you've done well," said
Conrad Ray, the Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf. "The guys got off to a solid start and we just kind of hung in there. Great contribution by
Henry Shimp going under par and
Daulet Tuleubayev was great from the get-go."
Starting the day in solo second place at 3-over and paired again with Auburn and Cal, the No. 12 Cardinal started early on the demanding back nine and combined for seven birdies to shoot 2-over, one better than Friday's first round. Shimp led the way with a 1-under 35 and seniors
Isaiah Salinda and
Brandon Wu added 36's.
After hitting his drive into the left hazard at the par-4 18th, Salinda provided a big momentum boost by draining a 20-foot putt to salvage a bogey.
The wind stirred in the afternoon and temperatures climbed into the low 80s. Stanford recorded 10 birdies and an eagle, the latter coming from freshman Tuleubayev at the par-5 fifth. He drilled his second shot with a 2-iron within 10 feet of the hole and made the putt.
Shimp was the player of the day for the Cardinal, contributing four birdies on the second side and had a team-best six overall. He birded the second, fifth, sixth and eighth holes and toured the last five in 3-under.
Stanford came into the championships with four straight team victories and has received contributions up and down the lineup.
"We've kind of told the guys all year that we're trying to have five No. 1's," Ray said. "All of those guys can step up at any time and play well and you saw that today. Everyone is in a good spot; now the goal is to get some rest. That's a heckuva hike."
More than 7,500 hilly yards and a nine-mile walk, to be exact.
The early clubhouse leader is Austin Eckroat of Oklahoma State at 6-under 138.
Salinda is currently tied for fourth at 4-under 140, while Shimp is seventh at 2-under 142. Wu and Tuleubayev share 37th at 4-over 148, and junior
David Snyder (76) is tied for 128th.
"Playing yesterday helped me understand the course," Salinda said. "I think the more you play this course, the more you get comfortable with it. There's a lot of shots where, if you don't have that much experience with the course, you'll be uncomfortable. So yesterday helped for sure."
Stanford starts early Sunday morning with Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. Snyder will lead off at 4:50 a.m. PT.
Following the round, the 30-team field will be cut to 15 for the last stroke play round on Monday when an individual winner will be crowned. The top eight teams qualify for match play on Tuesday.
"We know it's a long week," said Ray. "But if you can improve your position every day – and hats off to Oklahoma State, that's a great round. We're excited to see what happens tomorrow."
Live scoring can be found at GoStanford.com.
On Saturday, the Division I PING All-Region teams were announced. Salinda, Wu and Snyder were selected from the west. It marked the third consecutive year Wu has been chosen and the first for Salinda and Snyder.
