STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford men’s golf team standouts Maverick McNealy and Viraat Badhwar qualified for the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball Championship on Monday at Pasatiempo Golf Club in Santa Cruz, California.
The sophomores combined for a 5-under-par 65 on the challenging and picturesque Alister Mckenzie-designed layout to tie for second, two strokes behind pacesetters Satch Hermann and Daniel Ragsdale of Southern California.
The top three teams advanced to the tournament proper, May 2-6 on the Lake Course at the Olympic Club in Daly City, California.
McNealy carded six birdies – at the first, fourth, ninth, 11th and 17th holes, while and Badhwar added another at the 10th. They also bogeyed the short par-4 seventh and par-3 18th holes.
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McNealy, a Portola Valley native, has been on a roll this season. He has three individual victories and five top-three finishes, and is now the third-ranked college player in the country with a scoring average of 69.50.
“His play the last six months has been some of the best in program history,” said Conrad Ray, the Knowles Family Director of Golf. “He doesn’t play with fear and never takes his foot off the gas.”
McNealy is one of 16 players from around the country to receive an invitation from the United States Golf Association to be on the U.S. Walker Cup practice team. The group will convene on Dec. 17-20 at Frederica Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Georgia. Ten players will be selected for the American team that will compete in the 45th Walker Cup Match (Sept. 12-13) at Royal Lytham and St. Annes Golf Club in Lancashire, England.
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Graham Brockington, the Enright Foundation Assistant Coach for Men’s Golf, has also been red-hot. A former player for Ray and 2011 graduate, the first-year assistant recently fashioned six birdies in the final six holes to lead his team to victory in the father-and-son tournament at The Prestige in La Quinta, California.
“He’s regularly shooting in the 60s,” Ray said.
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Cardinal alums combined to win the third annual Stanford vs. Princeton Cup at Stanford Golf Course, 9-5. The Cardinal is now 3-0 in the friendly series in which the losing side buys lunch.
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Stanford, ranked 10th in the country, returns to competition March 26-28 when it hosts The Goodwin. Formerly called the United States Intercollegiate, the name was changed last year to honor long-time head coach Wally Goodwin.
