University of Oregon
NCAA Championships
Duck Golfers Improve in NCAA Round 2
05/28/09 | Men's Golf
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TOLEDO, Ohio ? The No. 31 University of Oregon men's golf team climbed into 23rd place in Wednesday's second round of the 112th NCAA Men's Golf Championships held at the Inverness Golf Club.
Although afternoon thunderstorms delayed the start by nearly 3 1/2 hours, it did little to slow UO who ended at five-over Wednesday before darkness set in, meaning the several remaining holes will be played Thursday morning at 6:45 a.m. ET (3:45 a.m. PT).
“We had a tough start again today,” Oregon head coach Casey Martin said, “but we had a really nice stretch on the front nine. Hopefully we can finish this round even stronger Thursday morning and continue to climb the standings, but we'll need a great third round to have a chance at the top eight cut for Friday. We played our best golf on the hardest holes today (holes 1-9), but played poorly on the easy side (holes 10-18). After the rain, the course played easier, partly because of the still air, while the greens got softer.”
On the par 71, 7,255-yard course, freshman Daniel Miernicki led UO for the second straight round and was at even-par, fellow frosh Eugene Wong was 1-over, freshman Andrew Vijarro and sophomore Isaiah Telles were 2-over, and freshman Robbie Ziegler was 6-over.
In the overall standings, Miernicki was tied for 44th at four-over, while UO's other overall places follow ? Wong (54th-tie, 5-over), Vijarro (102nd-t, 9-over), Telles (127th-t, 11-over) and Ziegler (137th-t, 13-over).
“Nobody's playing their best golf but they're hanging in,” Martin said. “Daniel has been strong all spring and played that way again today. Isaiah isn't hitting like he wants to but is competing well, and Eugene is playing very solid. As a whole, the kids are getting after it and battling.”
For comparison's sake, UO stood 25th overall after Tuesday's first round with its 22-over score of 306, and its individual scores follow - Eugene Wong and Daniel Miernicki (56th-tied, 4-over 75), Vijarro and Ziegler (117th-tied, 78) and Isaiah Telles (139th-t, 80).
On the team leaderboard Wednesday, No. 1 Oklahoma State held onto the lead (288-280-568) and held a five-stroke advantage over No. 2 Georgia (second, 288-285-573). No. 45 Michigan and No. 12 Texas A&M were tied at six-over in third place, while No. 14 ASU was a stroke back in fifth place at seven-over.
Overall individually, San Diego's Alex Ching leads the field with his six-under score, and is followed by Georgia's Russell Henley and Matt Hill who are tied for second at four-under.
Regularly updated hole-by-hole results for each round are located at the www.GolfStat.com website at the http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/leaderboards/team/static/team_players_1495.html URL address.
Wednesday marked the continuation of Oregon's first back-to-back appearance in the NCAA Championships since 1998-99, and 23rd overall in school history since its first trip in 1947 when it placed 17th. In that span, UO enjoyed top-10 finishes in 1956 (fourth), 1977 (seventh) and ?76 (10th).
After the Ducks will finish the second round Thursday morning, they will return later in the day at 4 p.m. ET (1 p.m. PT) to play the third and final round of stroke play that will also crown the individual champion. The top eight teams after the third round will advance to match play Friday, and the top two teams will play Saturday for the team title.
More information on the NCAA Championships is available at the www.NCAAsports.com and host www.UTrockets.com websites.
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Players Mentioned
