HUTCHISON, Kan. (May 26, 2014) -- A
Stanford
golfer came to the
rescue Monday but it wasn't Patrick Rodgers.
David Boote fired a spectacular 65 to help the
Cardinal hold off a
surge from LSU and Alabama to take the top
spot during stroke-
play and earn the top seed in match play at
the
2014 NCAA Men's
Golf Championship at Prairie Dunes.
Rodgers shot 67-68 over the first two rounds
and seemed poised to
win his seventh event of the season. But a
final-
round 73 pushed
him to a tie for 16th in the individual
competition and prevented
him from breaking Tiger Woods' career record
for wins at Stanford.
Instead, it was Boote (73-67-65, T3) and
Cameron Wilson (71-63-
70, T1) who led Stanford to a nine-shot
victory
over 'Bama and
LSU, which tied for second place.
Oklahoma State, Georgia Tech, UCLA, SMU and
Illinois are the
other teams moving on in the team
competition.
According to
Golfweek's Lance Ringler, who's on site, the
matches will be:
(1) Stanford vs. (8) Illinois
(2) Alabama vs. (7) SMU
(3) LSU vs. (6) UCLA
(4) Oklahoma State vs. (5) Georgia Tech
South Carolina narrowly missed forcing a
playoff
for the Nos. 7 and
8 seeds but couldn't convert late in the day.
The
Gamecocks
finished a shot back of Illinois and SMU.
Houston was three shots out of the tie for
seventh place, rounding
out the Top 10.
In the individual race, Stanford's Cameron
Wilson and Ollie
Schniederjans of Georgia Tech -- two of the
season's top stars --
tied for medalist honors at 6-under, forcing a
playoff to determine
the individual NCAA Champion.
On the third playoff hole -- the 17th at Prairie
Dunes -- Wlson sank
a birdie putt for the title.
Boote, James Ross (Houston) and Alabama's
Robby Shelton were
tied for third at 5-under.
ABOUT THE
NCAA Division I Championship
The NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship is the pinnacle of collegiate golf in the United States, held annually in late May or early June. The event brings together the nation's top 30 teams and six individual qualifiers, all of whom have advanced through a grueling regional qualifying process. Conference champions earn automatic regional berths, while a selection committee fills the remaining spots.
The championship begins with 72 holes of stroke play to determine the individual national champion. Following this, the top 8 teams advance to a match play bracket to compete for the team title — a format introduced in 2009 that added a dramatic head-to-head element to the final days of competition.
Some of the most decorated names in professional golf have competed in this event, including Jack Nicklaus, Hale Irwin, Tiger Woods, and Phil Mickelson. Winning the individual title now includes an added bonus: the champion receives an invitation to the following year’s Masters Tournament, provided they maintain amateur status.
The tournament dates back to 1897, originally run by the National Intercollegiate Golf Association. The NCAA began officially sponsoring the event in 1939. Over time, the championship has become not just a collegiate milestone, but also a launching pad for future PGA Tour stars.
After 72 holes of stroke play, the individual champion is crowned, and the low 8 teams advance to match play to determine the team champion.
View Complete Tournament Information