Feb. 8, 2013

Amer Ari Third Round

WAIKOLOA, Hawaii - Stanford shot eight under par in its best team performance of the tournament Friday at the Amer Ari Invitational at the Waikoloa Kings' Course on the Big Island.

The Cardinal finished seventh at 12-under 852.

In his career-best finish, senior Steve Kearney tied for fourth after a solid first round. He shot an opening round 69, 72 Thursday, and completed today with a 67 for an overall eight-under-par 208.

"My short game was pretty good in this tournament," said Kearney who carded seven birdies today for a five-under, his best round of the tournament. "My driving accuracy was definitely one of my strong points. I only missed a few fairways these last three days and that really set me up to play well."

The Cardinal had four players with under-par performances in the final round. Along with Kearney, junior Cameron Wilson, sophomore Patrick Rodgers and freshman David Boote each went one-under.

"We had some solid scores," said Philip Rowe, Stanford Enlight Foundation Assistant Coach. "Those one under pars were challenging in the breeze. Each player probably felt like they left a few shots out there, so there's plenty to work on."

Eight teams, including Stanford, shot under par today, with UCLA and Washington tying for first at 22-under-par 842, 10 strokes ahead of the Cardinal.

The deficits accumulated by Stanford in the first two rounds could not be overcome in the third. At one point during the day, however, the Cardinal crept up to a tie for fourth. But the players were unable to maintain the pace for the duration of the round.

"We had it going actually with a few holes left, but we gave a couple back in the end when we turned back into the wind on this course," said The Knowles Family Director of Golf Conrad Ray. "We're happy with the way the guys battled today. We wish we were a few slots up in the leaderboard but that's golf and it is awful close."

Senior Andrew Yun came in second for the team, tied for 26th at one-under 215. He opened the tournament with a 71 and finished with two consecutive 72s.

"Overall I thought my game and my mental game was pretty good," said Yun. "I know there are some aspects of my game that I need to work on like iron shots and putting in general."

Rounding out the rest of the team, Boote and Wilson tied for 34st at an even-par 216, while Rodgers tied for 49th at two-over. Boote (73-72-71) improved by one stroke after each round. As for Wilson (74-71-71) and Rodgers (77-70-71), their two-over and five-over opening rounds were followed by a string of under-par finishes.

Junior Shane Lebow, who competed as an individual, tied for 70th at six over par.

The Cardinal compete next in The Prestige at PGA West on February 18-19.

"I'd like to keep going with the momentum I had right now," said Kearney. "If I keep working on that putting, I feel like I could really shoot well next week in Palm Springs and help out the team again."

- By Estela-Marie Go, Stanford Athletics

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