Oct. 21, 2012

ALPHARETTA, Ga. - After opening the U.S. Collegiate with it's worst round of the season, Stanford's men's golf team pulled together and enjoyed the weekend, moving from dead last into fifth place among a competitive, 15-team field. Playing on The Golf Course of Georgia's Lakeside Course, the Cardinal followed it's oprning round 306 with rounds of 289-286 (881, +17) to finish seven strokes behind Georgia Tech, whose Ollie Schniederjans eagled the final hole to lift theYellow Jackets to a one-stroke team win.

"We were happy with the last couple days, but we dug ourselves a big hole on the first day," said The Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf Conrad Ray. "Our play Friday was lackluster, and we need to be better than that. I'm proud that the guys hung tough and posted two good scores. Today, our goal of the day was to be the low team of the day, and we accomplished that."

Patrick Rodgers continued his elite' level of play as a Cardinal golfer, taking the individual title for the fourth time in 15 collegiate events in a run of 12 top-10 finishes in just over a year. Starting the day in fourth place after rounds of 70-72, Rodgers fired a tournament-best final round 67 (209, -7) to win the event going away. Oklahoma State's Talor Gooch and Auburn's Michael Johnson tied for second, four shots behind Rodgers who made six birdies on Sunday and 15 on the weekend.

"Patrick really impressed me today picking up his second win," said Ray. "He played great this week and stayed patient and hit a lot of quality shots under pressure today, which was impressive. He just continues to get better."

David Boote continued a strong freshman year, finishing tied for 13th. Boote followed an opening round 75 with back-to-back rounds of 72 (219, +3).

Dominick Francks played better each day, firing rounds of 82-76-72 (230, +14) and tying for 62nd.

"Today we saw a great showing by Dom Francks, shooting an even-par round after a couple higher rounds earlier," said Ray. "He got better each day, which is a sign of a guy trying hard and he's doing all the right things."

Steve Kearney tied placed 77th. The senior shot 83-80-77 (240, +24).

The Cardinal has a quick turnaround before one of the most anticipated events in the history of the program tees off next Monday when the team hosts the Stanford Classic at Cypress Point.