University of Oregon
The Prestige
Revamped Lineup Lifts Ducks to Eighth at PGA West
11/01/04 | Men's Golf
LA QUINTA, Calif. -- Kyle Johnson, playing in his first tournament this season, shot a 9-over 153 Monday to lead Oregon to eighth place following two rounds of The Prestige at PGA West, played on the par-72, 7,156-yard Greg Norman Course.
Following last week's disappointing 12th place finish at the Big Ten/Pac-10 Challenge, Oregon coach Steve Nosler revamped his starting five to include Johnson, a junior from North Bend. The move paid off with Johnson shooting rounds of 75-78 on a day that no player finished closer than two strokes of breaking par.
Johnson, who was tied for 13th with Pepperdine's Michael Putnam, stayed away from trouble for the most part in the morning with four bogeys and one birdie, but struggled a bit in the afternoon with a pair of double bogeys on the front nine before getting one shot back with a birdie on the par-5 12th hole.
Freshman Joey Benedetti had rounds of 79-75 for Oregon and was tied for 15th at 10-over, while sophomore Matt Ma, also making his varsity season debut at PGA West, shot 79-80-159 and was tied for 38th. Benedetti, from Huntington Beach, Calif., had an adventurous path to his 3-over second round with four birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey. Ma, from Aiea, Hawaii, had the shot of the day for the Ducks, holing out from the fairway for an eagle on the par-4 11th during the afternoon round.
Host UC Davis used a second round 303 to take a one shot lead over No. 11 UCLA. The Aggies finished the day at 609, followed by the Bruins' 610. UC Irvine was third at 612, followed by Kansas at 618, No. 7 Texas Christian at 621, No. 24 Texas Tech at 622 and Oklahoma at 623.
Oregon had consistent rounds of 312-314 and was eighth at 626, with Pepperdine a shot back at 627, followed by Stanford at 628, No. 13 Brigham Young at 629 and Notre Dame at 633.
The Ducks are on pace for their best ever finish at The Prestige. Oregon's high finish in the event to date is ninth in 2000.
The Irish's Cole Isban held the individual lead at 2-over 146 following rounds of 72-74. He had a two-shot lead on Erik Hill of UC Davis, while three others were three strokes back.
The final round is scheduled to begin at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The Prestige at PGA West
Greg Norman Course
La Quinta, Calif.
First and Second Rounds
7,156-Yards, Par-72
TEAM SCORES - 1, UC Davis, 306-303-609. 2, UCLA, 302-308-610. 3, UC Irvine, 305-307-612. 4, Kansas, 313-305-618. 5, Texas Christian, 315-306-621. 6, Texas Tech, 311-311-622. 7, Oklahoma, 315-308-623. 8, Oregon, 312-314-626. 9, Pepperdine, 314-313-627. 10, Stanford, 313-315-628. 11, Brigham Young, 315-314-629. 12, Notre Dame, 311-322-633. 13 (tie), Colorado, 318-318-636; Pacific, 317-319-636. 15, Northern Colorado, 320-335-655. 16, Yale, 336-329-665.
OREGON FINISHERS - 13 (tie), Kyle Johnson, 75-78-153. 15 (tie), Joey Benedetti, 79-75-154. 38 (tie), Matt Ma, 80-79-159. 45 (tie), Chris Dukeminier, 78-82-160. 70 (tie), Matt Amen, 83-85-168
- www.GoDucks.com -
Players Mentioned
