The No. 9 Stanford men’s golf team closed out its fall season yesterday, taking second place honors at the CordeValle Collegiate tournament in San Martin, Calif.

As head coach Conrad Ray predicted in an interview two days ago, the Cardinal shot its best team score in the final round of the tournament, posting a six under-par, 354 to secure the runner-up position in the overall competition.

Freshman Sihwan Kim captured the first tournament win of his collegiate career yesterday after posting a three-under 69 in the final round of the tournament, tying for the individual championship with UCLA’s James Lee and Augusta State’s Henrik Norlander.

“Yesterday was a good way to finish up the fall season,” Ray said. “We would have liked to defend our CordeValle crown, but for us to have such a solid final round was great.”

Stanford concluded the tournament with a one-under three round total of 1079 and was the only other team besides No. 5 UCLA to post an under-par team score. Host UCLA reclaimed the top spot in the tournament this year by an 11-stroke margin, posting a 12-under 1068. Rounding out the top five were No.7 Southern California in third with a seven-over 1087, No. 19 Lamar in fourth with a nine-over 1089 and unranked Augusta State in fifth with a ten-over 1090.

“To be one of two teams to finish under par is a great accomplishment.” Ray said. “Hats off to UCLA for beginning with a good lead and staying tough to the end; they deserved to win. The tournament went well for our guys and it really gave us some momentum going into the spring season.”

Kim commenced his collegiate career on the right foot as the only member of the Cardinal golf team to notch a tournament victory this season. His title was not won without hard work though, seeing as he started the tournament in a tie for 34th place with a two-over first round score of 74. Following a rough first round, he posted a four-under 68 in the second round and sunk a 30-foot putt on the last hole of the final round to give him in claiming a share of the tournament crown.

“As a reward for winning, we let him have two servings at lunch,” Ray joked. “We are all excited for him. He has been a great team player who works really hard. Everyone around him sees that it is just a matter of time before he reaps the benefits of his talent in his collegiate golf career.”

Kim was not the only Cardinal golfer to post personal bests as sophomore Jordan Cox was one stroke behind Kim, earning his first top five individual finish. Cox stayed consistent throughout the first two rounds, notching even par scores of 72. He stepped up his game in the final round when he managed to shoot four birdies and an eagle for a career low round of 68. Cox finished in a tie for fourth with a four-under three round total of 212.

“The way Jordan has played this fall has been fantastic.” Ray said. “Jordan was the top prospect in his class coming out of high school and he had a tough freshman year. He had tremendous talent and every round plays, he gets better and better. He has realized his playing ability and his finish yesterday shows that all of his hard work has come to fruition.”

Sophomore Joseph Bramlett and senior Rob Grube played a major role in securing the Cardinal’s second place finish for the tournament. Both golfers finish in a tie for 20th with a two-over score of 218. Rounding out the Cardinal’s final fall season tournament score was junior Dodge Kemmer who finished in a tie for 38th with a seven-over 223.

According to Ray, the Stanford golf team has had a solid start to its fall season and looks to defend its title against the top teams in the nation.

“If we put all the pieces together with the group we have, we can be strong contenders on the national level.” Ray said. “The road to the NCAAs is going to be different this year because we are a younger team. Every time we go out there we get more experience. Right now, we are going to focus on our weaknesses during the off season so that we will be ready and fired up come February for our first tournament of the year.”