LA QUINTA, Calif. — A combined 11 birdies along the back nine provided a boost in the standings as the Stanford men’s golf team wrapped up the first round at The Prestige on Monday afternoon. The Cardinal, which shot 1-under as a team, currently sits in a tie for seventh out of the field of 24.
In a rocky, back-and-forth afternoon, Stanford battled through some early struggles to place two golfers in the top-25. Kush Arora overcame a 2-over front nine by posting three birdies - all of which came in a five hole swing - to earn a 70 on the card and a 1-under finish. Nathan Wang followed suit, overcoming a triple-bogey on hole nine with three birdies in his final nine holes to finish the round 1-under.
TK Chantananuwat had a strong day on the back nine as well, claiming two of his three birdies on the day in the final stretch to finish at an even 71 while Jay Leng posted three birdies on the back nine to claim a 1-over 72 after posting a triple bogey early in the round.
Ethan Gao was consistent throughout the day, completing the challenging course at 2-over.
Stanford begins round two from The Prestige tomorrow morning, starting in order at hole 10 with Gao teeing off first at 7:40 a.m. PT.