Benedetti Leads Push for Championships Bid at NCAA West Regional

BREMERTON, Wash. ? Joey Benedetti shot his second straight 3-under 69 to lead the Oregon men's golf team to second place following Friday's second round of the NCAA West Regional, putting the Ducks in good position for a top 10 finish and a bid to the NCAA Championships May 28-31 at Purdue.

Benedetti led the tournament at 6-under 138. He had a one shot lead on Dan Woltman of Wisconsin and was two strokes better than Nick Taylor of Washington.

Friday, Benedetti played the par-72, 7,111-yard Gold Mountain Golf Club almost identically to his opening round from Thursday with four birdies, a bogey and 13 pars. The senior from Huntington Beach, Calif., had birdies on No. 4, No. 6, No. 8 and No. 16, and a bogey on No. 1.

"Joey is playing phenomenal golf right now," said Oregon coach Casey Martin. "He's hitting the ball well and making some putts and hopefully he can finish it off."

The Ducks also received a strong performance from senior Derek Sipe, who carded a 1-under 71 and was tied for sixth for the tournament at 1-under 143.

"Our seniors have really stepped up," said Martin. "I am really pound of them."

In the team competition, top seeded USC shot a 5-under 283 to move into first place at 2-under 574. The Ducks followed at 579, with Clemson a stroke back in third at 580. UCLA and Washington were tied for fourth at 585. Arizona State was the big mover of Friday, jumping to sixth place at 589. Kentucky and Pepperdine were tied for seventh at 593 and Wisconsin was in 10th at 594. Saint Mary's and Oklahoma were tied for 11th at 595.

The top 10 teams at Bremerton advance to the NCAA Championships, and that means Oregon has a 16-stroke cushion for a top-10 spot on Saint Mary's and Oklahoma heading into Sunday's final round.

"The guys just played great, a real solid round today," said Martin. "We gave ourselves good cushion and we need one more real smart, solid round tomorrow and we should be going to nationals."

On Friday, Oregon also counted a 74 from freshman Sean Maekawa, while freshmen Isaiah Telles and Jack Dukeminier both shot 76s.

Telles, from Tualatin, Ore., was tied for 27th at 147.

Continued sunny and warm conditions were expected for Saturday's final 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, USC, 291-283-574. 2, Oregon, 289-290-579. 3, Clemson, 295-285-580. T4, UCLA, 291-294-585; Washington, 291294-585. 6, Arizona State, 304-289-589. T7, Kentucky, 302-291-593; Pepperdine, 292-301-593; Stanford, 296-297-593. 10, Wisconsin, 304-290-594. T11, Saint Mary's, 294-301-595. T11, Oklahoma, 306-289-595. 13, Oregon State, 302-295-597. T14, Texas Tech, 302-296-598; Texas, 299-299-598. T16, California, 305-296-601; North Carolina, 295-306-601. 18, Central Florida, 301-302-603. 19, Kansas State, 305-299-604. 20, San Diego State, 302-303-605. 21, Florida State, 304-305-609. 22, Denver, 309-301-610. 23, Nevada-Las Vegas, 301-311-612. 24, Louisiana State, 304-313-617. 25, San Diego, 308-311-619. 26, Navy, 312-309-621. 27, Columbia, 314-327-641.

Top Individuals

1, Joey Benedetti, Oregon, 69-69-138. 2, Dan Woltman, Wisconsin, 71-68-139. 3, Nick Taylor, Washington, 71-69-140. 4, Michael McRae, Saint Mary's, 72-69-141. 5, Rory Hie, USC, 72-70-142. T6, Derek Sipe, Oregon, 72-71-143; James Byrne, Arizona State, 73-70-143; Kevin Chappell, UCLA, 71-72-143; Erik Flores, UCLA, 73-70-143; Tom Glissmeyer, USC, 72-71-143; Jamie Lovemark, USC, 72-71-143.

Other Oregon Individuals

T27, Isaiah Telles, 71-76-147. T81, Jack Dukeminier, 77-76-153. T87, Sean Maekawa, 80-74-154.

- www.GoDucks.com -