University of Oregon
NCAA West Regional
Benedetti, Ducks Take Surprising First Round Lead at NCAA West Regional
05/16/08 | Men's Golf
BREMERTON, Wash. ? Cinderella has webbed feet.
Senior Joey Benedetti shot a 3-under 69 as 16th-seeded Oregon claimed the surprising opening round lead after the first day of the NCAA West Regional, played Thursday at the par-72, 7,111-yard Gold Mountain Golf Club.
The Ducks lead the field, which includes seven top-25 teams, at 1-over 289, two strokes better than top-seeded USC, No. 2 seed UCLA and Washington.
"We went out and just played great. It's exciting to be leading after the first day," said Oregon coach Casey Martin. "What an experience for these guys, especially our freshman."
Benedetti, Oregon's No. 1 golfer this season, had a steady round on a windy day when the course yielded only seven rounds under par. The Huntington Beach, Calif., native had birdies on No. 1, No. 11, No. 13 and No. 18, a bogey on No. 7 and 13 pars.
"It was great to see Joey step up like that," said Martin. "He's been our most consistent golfer this spring, so to see his name at the top of the leader board is really exciting."
Benedetti was one shot better than Eric Shriver of Pepperdine, who carded a 70. Five other golfers were tied for third at 1-under 71, including Oregon freshman Isaiah Telles.
"The course is really not set up for Isaiah's game, but he came out and competed tremendously hard for us," said Martin of Telles, who had six birdies on Thursday.
The top 10 teams were separated by just 10 strokes. After the four Pac-10 schools at the top of the leader board, Pepperdine was fifth at 292, followed by Saint Mary's at 294. Clemson and North Carolina were tied for seventh at 295. Stanford was ninth at 296 and Texas rounded out the top 10 at 299.
The top 10 teams from Bremerton will advance to the NCAA Championships May 28-31 at Purdue and Oregon's first round gave the Ducks a 12-stroke cushion on the teams in 11th place, currently Central Florida and Nevada-Las Vegas, which both shot 13-over 301.
"There is a long, long way to go in this tournament," said Martin. "Making up 12 strokes over 36 holes is nothing. I'd feel much better and relax a little if we had a 30 stroke cushion. Maybe 35.
"There are a ton of great teams jammed in there and gunning for us and so we can't back off," he said. "The bulk of our work remains ahead of us."
On Thursday, the Ducks also counted a 72 from senior Derek Sipe, who was tied for eighth overall, and a 77 from freshman Jack Dukeminier.
Sunny and warm conditions are expected for Friday's second round, which begins at 7 a.m. Oregon is scheduled to tee off the back nine at 12:12.
NCAA West Regional
Gold Mountain Golf Club
Bremerton, Wash.
7,111-yards, par-72
First Round
Team Scores
1, Oregon, 289. T2, USC, 291; UCLA, 291; Washington, 291. 5, Pepperdine, 292. 6, Saint Mary's, 294. T7, Clemson, 295; North Carolina, 295. 9, Stanford, 296. 10, Texas, 299. T11, Central Florida, 301; Nevada-Las Vegas, 301. T13, Texas Tech, 302; Oregon State, 302; San Diego State, 302; Kentucky, 302. T17, Louisiana State, 304; Florida State, 304; Arizona State, 304; Wisconsin, 304. T21, California, 305; Kansas State, 305. 23, Oklahoma, 306. 24, San Diego, 308. 25, Denver, 309. 26, Navy, 312. 27, Columbia, 314.
Top Individuals
1, Joey Benedetti, Oregon, 69. 2, Eric Shriver, Pepperdine, 70. T3, Isaiah Telles, Oregon, 71; Kevin Chappell, UCLA, 71; Rob Grube, Stanford, 71; Nick Taylor, Washington, 71; Dan Woltman, Wisconsin, 71. T8, Derek Sipe, Oregon, 72; Chadd Cocco, Saint Mary's, 72; Tom Glissmeyer, USC, 72; Rory Hie, USC, 72; Jamie Lovemark, USC, 72; Chase MacFarland, North Carolina, 72; Michael McRae, Saint Mary's, 72; John Peterson, Louisiana State, 72; Kyle Stanley, Clemson, 72; Darren Wallace, Washington, 72; Chris Ward, Texas Tech, 72.
Other Oregon Individuals
T82, Jack Dukeminier, 77. T120, Sean Maekawa, 80.
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Players Mentioned
