Stanford Athletics: OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Stanford men's golf won the 2022 Fighting Illini Invitational, finishing with an even-par 280 on Sunday and claiming a dominant 12-stroke victory over a stacked field at Olympia Fields Country Club. Junior Michael Thorbjornsen claimed his first collegiate victory, firing a 4-under 66 final round to win by one stroke over Florida's Ricky Castillo and 36-hole leader Illinois' Adrien Dumont de Chassart.

The preseason No. 15 Cardinal claimed its first season-opening tournament win since the 2014 Southwestern Invitational at North Ranch Country Club and its second Fighting Illini Invitational title of all-time (2011). The Cardinal came out on top against an impressive field which included seven of the nation's Top 11 teams: No. 2 North Carolina, No. 3 Florida, No. 5 Arizona State, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 9 Texas, No. 10 Pepperdine and the hosts No. 11 Illinois.

Thorbjornsen became the fourth Cardinal (six times) to earn medalist honors at the event, joining Patrick Rodgers (2011, 2012), Cameron Wilson (2013) and Maverick McNealy (2014, 2015). He began the day tied for sixth at 3-under and was even through nine holes Sunday. He'd catch fire on the back nine, though, with birdies on No. 11, 13, 15 and 18 to pull off a come-from-behind victory for his first collegiate win. In the victory, Thorbjornsen led the field in Par 4 scoring (-4), was tied for sixth in Par 3 scoring (-1) and was 2-under on the Par 5s. His 39 pars and 11 birdies over 56 holes were both in the top five.

Stanford got strong play from four scorers. Fellow junior Karl Vilips tied for sixth, his fourth career Top-10 finish, leading the field with 12 birdies. Ethan Ng's tie for ninth marked his best finish since the 2020 Southwestern Invitational. Barclay Brown finished tied for 12th in the team victory, Stanford's first since the Colonial Collegiate last fall.

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Stanford was the only team in the 15-team field under par on Sunday, moving up the leaderboard three spots to finish fourth at the Fighting Illini Invitational. The Cardinal shot a 1-under 279 in the third and final round to finish with a 14-over 854 at Olympia Fields Country Club, a course that has hosted several major professional championships.

"It was great to get the rust off a bit and test our games against the best teams in the country," Knowles Family Director of Men's Golf Conrad Ray said on Sunday. "Olympia Fields is a stern test and our guys got better every round. I'm happy for Michael Thorbjornsen on his first collegiate Top 10 and the whole team played hard. There's lot of golf ahead but it was a good first week out!"