One stroke was the deciding factor as the sixth-ranked men’s Stanford golf team narrowly missed national glory this past weekend at the NCAA Championships, held at Purdue University’s Kampen Course. Stanford was only a putt away from becoming the first team in nearly twenty years to repeat as national champions, falling to the new national champion, UCLA. The Cardinal fired a strong 43-over 1195 but it just wasn’t enough to overcome Kevin Chappell and the rest of the Bruin competitors.

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Jeff Keacher

Senior Rob Grube and his Cardinal teammates nearly came away with their second straight national championship, falling to No. 4 UCLA by a single stroke.

Stanford, Clemson, UCLA and USC provided an exciting finish to four days of grueling competition between the top collegiate golf teams in the nation. Going into the final holes of the tournament, the four teams were all in the running to take the national crown and it was anybody’s game. Stanford would have to deal with a strong wind from the west but finished its final round first posting a 14-over 302, the lowest scoring round of all three teams on the day.

The next few hours of the tournament would decide the team’s season. Clemson finished next with a 24-over 310 that solidified a fourth place finish which left the cross-town rivals to compete for bragging rights and the title of the best team in the nation. With Stanford eagerly waiting in the wings, the Trojans bent to pressure and finished just one stroke behind the Cardinal, leaving the title decision to the final team on the green.

UCLA’s Chappell almost mis-stepped by double-bogeying the 17th hole. But on the 18th, he got serious and became the hero of the day for the Bruins, taking an even par score on the final hole to dash Stanford’s hopes and seize the NCAA team and individual titles.

“I was thinking about four or five guys playing those last three holes,” head coach Conrad Ray told GoStanford.com directly following the tournament. “If you can play those holes a couple over . . . based on what the scores were it seemed like 40 or 41 [over-par] was going to have a really good chance. We needed a little help there at the end and didn’t get it, but hats off to UCLA. They played solid all week and really did it when they needed to.”

Freshman Sihwan Kim led the Cardinal to its top national finish, tabbing an eagle on the ninth hole and firing a one-under 71 for the final round to conclude his first NCAA Tournament in a tie for fourth place. Kim began the final round of the tournament in a tie for 17th with a seven-over 223 but stepped up when he needed to.

Senior captain Rob Grube also played a major role on Stanford’s road to NCAA greatness, finishing in a tie for 18th with a 12-over 300 for the tournament. Grube struggled on the final day of the tournament after posting a 6-over par 80 but was the low scorer on the team for both the second and third rounds with a two-under 69 and a one-over 71 for rounds two and three.

Junior Dodge Kemmer was only three strokes behind Grube, posting a 15-over 303 for the tournament. Kemmer improved throughout the weekend and managed to jump four places after nailing a three-over 75 on the final day of the tournament.

Sophomore Jordan Cox finished the tournament in a tie for 43rd with a 19-over 307 for his first NCAA tournament outing. Cox also had a pretty solid performance for the Cardinal during the two middle rounds, recording a one-under 71 for the second round of the tournament.

Freshman Steve Ziegler finished in a tie for 52nd with a 17-over 309. Ziegler’s performance looked promising at the beginning of the tournament as he led the Cardinal with a four-over 76.

Grube was the only golfer on the team who had ever competed at the NCAA Championship, yet the competition never would have known it — Stanford almost defeated UCLA to take home the championships for the second straight year. Ray emphasized the difficulty of winning the national title twice in a row.

“I tell you, it’s hard,” reported GoStanford.com. “There are so many great teams, everything has to add up and you have to get some good breaks. It is tough, but we gave it a good shot this year. And I’m sure we’ll try and get back here next year.”

Unlike last year, Stanford was ranked sixth going into the NCAA tournament and had only one tournament win and eight top five finishes this season. Though Stanford has played consistently well this year, the Cardinal has not been able to put all of the necessary ingredients together until the final tournament of the season where they earned runner-up honors. If Stanford can earn the second rank in the nation with four newcomers to NCAA play, the sky is the limit for coach Ray’s program in the coming years.