Sept. 28, 2012

STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 11 Stanford men's golf team begins it's season Sunday at the 2012 Olympia Fields/Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill.

The three-day event, held on the club's par-70, 7,080-yard South Course, includes six teams ranked in Golf Week's pre-season coaches poll. The Cardinal is joined by No. 8 Arkansas, No. 12 Florida, No. 16 Florida State, No. 21 Duke, No. 24 Clemson, Oklahoma State, Illinois, Auburn, Augusta State, Indiana, Northwestern, Purdue and Southern Methodist.

The Cardinal was victorious at last year's tournament, carding rounds of 277-282-290 (849, +9), to best second-place Auburn by 16 strokes. Patrick Rodgers won his first collegiate tournament with rounds of 68-70-68 (206, -4) and Andrew Yun (211, +1) and Cameron Wilson (212, +2) finished third and fourth, respectively.

"We are excited to be back to defend our title at the Olympia Fields / Illini Challenge," said The Knowles Director of Men's Golf Conrad Ray. "The field is always strong and the newly renovated South Course will present a fair but stern test. With some young guys in the lineup we will need to be patient and play the course as it comes and not try and get ahead of ourselves. The vibe in Chicago on Ryder Cup weekend promises to be a ton of fun and we can't wait."

Joining Rodgers in the five-man lineup are senior Steve Kearney, juniors Shane Lebow and Andre DeDecker, and freshman David Boote.