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May 21, 2005

Stanford, Ca - The Stanford men's golf team, behind the play of freshman Rob Grube, rallied in the final round of Saturday's NCAA West Regional at the Stanford Golf Course to earn a berth at the upcoming NCAA Championship.

The Cardinal men, seeded 16th at the regionals, shot a final round of 283 (four golfers) to compile a 54-hole total of 863 to finish eighth in the 27-team field.

Stanford's total of 283 on Saturday was its best round during the three-day tournament. On Thursday, Stanford shot a team total of 289, and tallied a 291 on Friday.

"This was a great team effort, and I am so happy for the seniors who will be making their first appearance at the NCAA Championships," said Grube who won the 2005 NCAA West Regional title and spearheaded a Cardinal attack with a three-round total of 204, six-under par. Grube enjoyed his best round of the tournament on Saturday with a five-under-par 65. Grube's 65 was a collegiate career-low, surpassing a 66 shot at the Gold Rush Tournament in Calimesa last September.

Grube's regional victory was the first by a Stanford athlete since Tiger Woods captured the crown at the NCAA West Regionals in 1996, Grube was on course to break the course record but triple bogeyed the 18th hole to fall from eight-under to five-under. Oscar Alvarez of BYU set the course record with a seven-under-par 63 on Thursday.

"I have been thirsting for a win all year, and I have been working hard," said Grube. "I have been trying to relax and have some fun."

For Grube, this was the continuation of an excellent freshman season in which he has now enjoyed three top five finishes during the past month. Last month, Grube tied for second at the U.S. Interollegiate at Stanford, and fourth at the Pac-10 Championship in Walla Walla, Wa.

Grube finished three strokes ahead of UCLA's Kevin Chappel (71-67-69 = 207) and Arizona's Nathan Lashley (66-72-69 = 207).

Ten teams and two individuals (not on advancing teams) advanced from each regional to the NCAA Championship which will be conducted June 1-4 at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Maryland. Wake Forest (17 under par) won the East Regional in Kingston Springs, Tenn, while Augusta State (nine over par) won the Central Regional at Notre Dame. Loyola College (Maryland) is the host institution for this year's championship.

For Stanford, this will be its first appearance at the NCAA Championship since 2001.

"Hats off to the team," said first year head coach Conrad Ray. "I'm proud of the team's accomplishment. This is the first time since 1996 that we have hosted the NCAA West Regional, and this was a good springboard to the NCAA's."

UNLV won the NCAA West Regional title with a three-day total of 846, three strokes ahead of runnerup, second-seeded and fifth-ranked (nationally) New Mexico and eight strokes ahead of third place Washington. The Rebels, top-seeded at the West Regional and ranked second in the nation, captured their fourth Regional title, and their first since 1997.

Complete results are available at www.golfstat.com

Golf Gossip
Arizona State's Pat Moore scored a hole-in-one on the 168-yard fourth hole ... That is the first hole-in-one on Stanford's newly designed course ... Rob Grube's collegiate career-low of 65 was three short of his career-best of 62 set in 2002 while a student at the Robert Louis Stevenson School in Carmel, Ca.

NCAA West Regional Team Totals (Final Totals)
Stanford University Golf Course, Par 70, 6,742 yards
1. UNLV, 281-277-288 = 846
2. New Mexico, 284-284-281 = 849
3. Washington, 286-282-286 = 854
T4. Arizona State, 290-281-286 = 857
T4. UCLA, 288-288-281 = 857
6. BYU, 278-284-296 = 858
7. San Diego State, 286-290-284 = 860
T8. Stanford, 289-291-283 = 863
T8. Arizona, 283-296-284 = 863
*T10. USC, 286-292-286 = 864
T10. South Carolina, 289-288-287 = 864
T10. Pepperdine, 279-292-293 = 864
T13. Auburn, 290-295-284 = 869
T14. St. Mary's 295-285-290 = 870
T14. Oregon, 292-298-280 = 870
16. Denver 294-296-283 = 873
17. UC Riverside, 295-290-297 = 882
18. South Alabama 295-297-291 = 883
19. Fresno State, 295-299-292 = 886
20. Colorado State, 303-302-285 = 890
21. Texas-Arlington, 297-307-294 = 898
22. Cal Poly, 297-307-297 = 901
23. Illinois State, 303-309-292 = 904
24. LSU, 294-301-311 = 906
25. Princeton, 306-301-301 = 908
26. Samford, 312-302-299 = 913
27. Central Connecticut State, 302-317-301 = 920
* USC qualifies for the NCAA's in a playoff with Pepperdine and South Carolina

NCAA West Regional Individual Scores (final totals)
1. Rob Grube, Stanford, 69-70-65 = 204
T2. Kevin Chappel, UCLA, 71-67-69 = 207
T2. Nathan Lashley, Arizona, 66-72-69 = 207
4. Oscar Alvarez, BYU, 63-71-74 = 208
5. Pat Moore, Arizona State, 69-69-71 = 209
T6. Spencer Levin, New Mexico, 72-71-67 = 210
T6. Ryan Moore, UNLV, 69-69-72 = 210
T6. Madalitso Muthiya, New Mexico, 69-71-70 = 210
T6. Gilberto Rodriguez, San Diego State, 69-74-67 = 210
10. Erik Olson, Washington, 69-70-72 = 211

Stanford Individual Scores
1. Rob Grube, 69-70-65 = 204
T67. Zack Miller, 73-74-74 = 221
T73. Pat Phillips, 77-72--73 = 222
T73. Kevin Blue, 76-75-71 = 222
T118. Matt Savage, 71-84-76 = 231

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