March 7, 2013

Golfstat Live Scoring

LAS VEGAS, Nev. - Stanford, up one spot to No. 13 (Golfweek), competes on Friday at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters, where all the teams rank in the top 40 and the majority of which are in the top 10.

The Cardinal is joined by top ranked California, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Alabama, No. 5 New Mexico, No. 6 UCLA, No. 7 USC, No. 8 Duke and No. 10 Florida.

Rounding out the 15-team field are No. 11 Georgia, No. 12 Georgia Tech, No. 16 Okalahoma State, No. 25 Texas A&M, No. 26 Oklahoma and No. 40 UNLV.

"The course and field at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters are two of the strongest we will see all year," said The Knowles Family Director of Golf Conrad Ray. "You need to have very good ball control on the course and typically even par is a very good score both individually and as a team. The event is a very good litmus test on where we are with things as we begin to prepare for the spring run toward NCAAs."

This 54-hole event consists of three rounds, from March 8-10, on the Southern Highlands Golf Club. Play will begin at 8 a.m. each day with tee times off the first and 10th holes. Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com.

"Southern Highlands is a demanding golf course that tests all facets of the game," said sophomore Patrick Rodgers. "The greens are fast and firm, the golf course is long and the rough is difficult. As a team we need to be sharp mentally."

After a fifth-place finish at the Prestige at PGA West and a seventh-place finish at the Amer Ari Invitational, Ray starts the same five players in a shuffled order. The lineup is Rodgers, freshman David Boote, senior Steve Kearney, junior Cameron Wilson and senior Andrew Yun.

"When we play in events that use the format of tee time starts off the first and tenth holes, there is some advantage to lead off with strength and finish with strength," said Ray. "We believe Andrew is primed to have another great event and we expect him to get out of the gates quickly. Patrick has been very steady and likes being the last guy on the course with a task at hand. Steve has been very steady for us as well the last few events, thus his spot in the middle of the lineup supports this effort."

Yun returns to competition after leading the team, along with Wilson, at a tied seventh-place finish at the Prestige.

"I feel like my game is really solid and I `m capable of contending for the title," said Yun. "To get to that next level, I will need to be more consistent. I have been making enough birdies, but the bogeys need to be reduced. I have been making small but significant errors that cost me one to two shots a round, which equates to three to six shots a tournament. So if I can just marginalize the errors, maybe I can head into the back nine Sunday in contention for the win."

"The course tempts you to take on risk many times throughout the round," said Rodgers. "We need to establish a game plan for the golf course and stay committed to it throughout the event."

Follow @StanfordMGolf on Twitter for up-to-the-minute updates and quotes from the team. Get to know the players and the program through the daily features at facebook.com/StanfordMensGolf