University of Oregon
Oregon Duck Invitational
Oregon Rallies for Second at the Duck Invitational
03/25/09 | Men's Golf
EUGENE, Ore. -- Nick Taylor captured the individual title to lead No. 11 Washington to victory Tuesday at the Oregon Duck Invitational.
But it wasn't easy. Taylor and Oregon's Jack Dukeminier engaged in a thrilling cross-course battle that went down to the final hole, which was made even more challenging since the two competitors played opposite sides of the 7,033 yard, par-72 Eugene Country Club.
Dukeminier, who began his round on No. 10, entered the final round with a one shot lead on Taylor and pushed it to two strokes with a birdie on No. 11 before playing bogey-free the rest of his front nine. Taylor countered with a birdie on No. 4, only to give it back with a bogey on the par-five sixth hole.
The turning point of the tournament came when Taylor eagled the par-5 eighth hole to draw even at 3-under par. After paring their ninth holes of the day, the two golfers switched sides of the golf course and continued to match shot-for-shot.
Taylor got the first salvo in on the back nine with a birdie on No. 12, but Dukeminier squared things once again with a birdie on No. 6, his 15th hole of the day. Taylor re-took the lead with a birdie on No. 16, but Dukeminier answered with a birdie on No. 8, and the two rivals stood on the ninth and 18th tee boxes in a dead heat.
Dukeminier played first and left his approach shot short and in the rough on the right side of the green. He played a tough chip shot to about eight feet of the pin, but his par putt curled around the edge of the cup and the sophomore from Eugene had to settle for a bogey, his first and only one of the day.
Meanwhile on No. 18, Taylor capped his 4-under day with an easy par to defeat Dukeminier by a shot and capture his third victory of the 2008-09 season, finishing at 5-under 211 for the three-round tournament.
Still, Oregon head coach Casey Martin was proud of his sophomore.
"It might tell you what kind of coach I am that I didn't even have this guy in our starting five, but I'm really proud of the way he came out and played and really wanted to win this tournament," said Martin. "Nick Taylor is a really good player and for Jack to be able to be right with him to the last hole is pretty amazing."
Dukeminier shot a 4-under 212 and finished second, his best finish as a collegian.
In the team competition, Washington slammed the door early on any chances of an Oregon rally by shooting a tournament-best 10-under 278 in the final round and won by 15 strokes.
"This was literally one of the best days I can remember," said Washington coach Matt Thurmond, whose team won the Duck Invitational for the first time since 2005. "Oregon is going to be really good. Those freshmen they have are awesome. But it was certainly nice to be able to come down here and get a win."
The Ducks continued their solid spring with a second-place finish at 10-over 874 that included a final round of 4-under 284.
It was Oregon's third top-five finish in as many events this spring as Martin started the same five golfers - four freshmen and a sophomore - who won the Braveheart Classic three weeks ago.
Freshman Daniel Miernicki, who shot a career-best 67 Monday, closed out the tournament with a 72 to tie for fifth at 1-over 217, which was his best finish as a collegian. Fellow freshman Robbie Ziegler rallied with a 70 on Tuesday to tie for 10th at 3-over 219. It was the third top-10 finish of 2008-09 for the freshman from Canby, Ore. Freshman Andrew Vijarro also earned his best finish as a Duck. The Bend, Ore., native tied for 17th at 2-over 221.
Oregon staved off Oregon State and Colorado for its second-place finish. The Ducks, who trailed the Beavers by two shots heading into the final round, were five stokes better than OSU's 879 and 12 better than Colorado's 886.
By defeating the Beavers, and combined with the women's golf team's victory at Shadow Hills earlier on Tuesday, the Ducks clinched at least a tie for the 2008-09 Dodge Civil War Cup. With four points remaining in the series (two each in baseball and softball) Oregon leads 9.5 to 5.5.
The Ducks also had some individual players set personal bests at the Duck Invitational. Sophomore Eric Grimberg earned the best finish of his career with a final round 71 that left him in a tie for seventh at 218. Freshman John Paton, playing in his first collegiate tournament, tied for 12th along with sophomore Sean Maekawa at 4-over 220.
Even senior Matt Jacobsen got into the act, carding a career-best 73 in the final round.
The Ducks now head to Santa Cruz, Calif., for the Western Intercollegiate beginning on Sunday.
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Players Mentioned
