OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. – Junior All-American Maverick McNealy repeated as individual medalist and helped lead the Stanford men’s golf team to a fourth-place finish Sunday in the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational at Olympia Fields Country Club.
McNealy, the 2015 Division I Player of the Year and ranked No. 1 last week among college players by Golfweek, closed with a 1-over-par 71 to finish at 7-under 203, three strokes ahead of Illinois’ Thomas Detry. Last season, McNealy shared medalist honors at Olympia Fields and wound up winning an NCAA-best six tournaments.
Fifth-ranked Stanford entered the final round of the strong 15-team, 54-hole event Sunday with a two-stroke advantage over Oklahoma State and top-ranked Florida State. McNealy helped provide the cushion on Saturday by shooting a 65, highlighted by a hole-in-one on the 189-yard 15th hole with a 6-iron.
However, the Cardinal struggled on Sunday, posting an 11-over-par 291. Florida State combined to shoot a 1-under 273 and won the tournament with a 6-over-par 846. Oklahoma State claimed second at 849, followed by Arizona State at 855 and Stanford at 856.
McNealy carded two birdies and three bogeys, but shot a 1-under 33 on the back nine. Junior Viraat Badhwar also shot 71 and tied for 16th at 4-over 214. He made one birdie and two bogeys, but played the last six holes in 1-under.
Senior David Boote shot 74 and tied for 27th at 8-over 218, while sophomore Franklin Huang shot 75 and tied for 38th at 11-over 221. Sophomore Bradley Knox closed with a 75 and tied for 65th at 17-over 227.
Stanford, the two-time defending Pac-12 Conference champion, returns to competition Oct. 4-6 at the Nike Golf College Invitational in Portland, Oregon.
