The Stanford men’s golf team began its quest for a national title on Tuesday at the NCAA Championships, held at the Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn. The Cardinal is seeking its ninth national championship and its first since 2007.
Stanford was awarded the second overall seed in the 30-team field, behind only Oregon. Pac-10 champion Washington is seeded fourth.
The teams play 54 holes over three days, with the top eight teams advancing to a single-elimination match play tournament.
Last year, Stanford finished in 20th after the stroke play, failing to advance to the match play.
Stanford sent five golfers to the tournament — senior Joseph Bramlett, juniors Steve Ziegler and Sihwan Kim, sophomore David Chung and freshman Andrew Yun.
Bramlett is the only player who was on Stanford’s 2007 championship team. The Cardinal advanced to the national championships after winning the Central Regional in South Bend, Ind. at the Warren Golf Course.
The NCAA Championships have not been held at the Honors Course since 1996, when Tiger Woods claimed the individual title with a three-under score of 285.
The course is playing as a par 72 at 7,445 yards. For the first two rounds, Stanford was paired with Oregon and Oklahoma State.
The Cardinal shot a four-over 292 on Tuesday in the first round of the tournament, which put Stanford in a tie for 12th after day one.
Kim led Stanford with a one-under 71 in the first round on the strength of three birdies on the back nine, while Ziegler was close behind with an even-par 72. Yun, Bramlett and Chung followed with a two-over, four-over and six-over.
In the second round, the Cardinal improved on its performance, shooting an even-par 288. After Stanford finished its second round, weather forced the remainder of the second round to be delayed for a few hours. After a brief restart, the nine remaining teams on the course were forced to leave again due to more weather problems, and they will finish their second rounds today.
Among teams that finished their second rounds, Stanford is currently tied for 11th. The Cardinal also trails Virginia by a stroke, but the Cavaliers still have a few second-round holes to play.
Kim and Ziegler again led Stanford, notching one-under 71s. Yun, Bramlett and Chung all improved on their first rounds.
In order to advance to the weekend’s match play competition, Stanford must finish today’s third round in the top eight. The Cardinal is currently three strokes behind Washington and Clemson for eighth place.
All the teams will be repaired for the final 18 holes today, and the third round will begin at 6 a.m. PST.