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Stanford's Rodgers wins his third title of the season  

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Stanford sophomore Patrick Rodgers finished in a four-way tie before earning a playoff title while helping the Cardinal finish fifth at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters on Sunday in Las Vegas, Nev.

Rodgers made a birdie on the 18th hole to get into the four-way playoff with Cal's Michael Kim, New Mexico's James Erkenbeck and Alabama's Cory Whitsett. All four players shot 4-under in the tournament and were credited with a share of the individual honors. Rodgers (66-73-73), however, birdied the 18th again during sudden death for the individual medal.

"My record is good in playoffs and, for whatever reason, I feel very comfortable in those situations," said Rodgers, who earned his fifth collegiate title and third of the season. "I had just played 18 really well and felt I could do it again. The key shot was the drive. If I could thread the needle between the bunker left and water right, I could get it into a good position for my third. I hit two great shots and a pitch to 12 feet and hit a great putt.

"This was a big win for me. I have been working very hard and not getting the results, but I was still trusting of the work I was putting in. To battle back after falling behind and make two big putts on 18 gives me a lot of confidence going forward."

Rodgers' effort helped the Cardinal finish 286-290-300 for fifth place.

No. 1 (by Golfweek) California scored 285-280-291 to win the tournament at 856, 20 strokes ahead of the Cardinal. No. 3 Alabama and No. 5 New Mexico tied for second, while No. 6 UCLA finished fourth, helped by a 77-74-72 (223) effort by Atherton's Jonathan Garrick.

No. 13 Stanford at fifth finished ahead of six teams ranked ahead of them, including four in the top 10, on one of the strongest fields until the NCAA Championships.

"The conditions were very difficult and the competition was tough," said Stanford head coach Conrad Ray. "It was a good measuring stick of what we need to work on."

Wilson (71-71-73), in a strong finish, recorded a 1-under 215 for fifth. The junior made five birdies in the final round with three consecutive ones on the final three holes.

For Stanford senior Andrew Yun (73-74-76), a final 4-over round tied him for 31st at 223. Freshman David Boote (76-72-78) tied for 48th at 226, while senior Steve Kearney (83-75-79) tied for 75th at 237.

The Cardinal next will host the U.S. Intercollegiate on March 28-30.

PGA Cadillac Championship
Former Stanford All-American Tiger Woods shot a closing 1-under 71 to win by two shots while capturing the 76th tour title of his career in Doral, Fla. He made 27 birdies during the week and shot 66-65-67-71-269 and earned $1.5 million for his effort.

San Francisco City Tournament
Gunn High junior Jayshree Sarathy finished second in the women's division for the second straight year after falling to 17-year-old Casie Cathrea, 10-and-8, in the championship match on Sunday at Harding Park.

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