Ducks Wrap Up Fall Season in San Diego
10/30/15 | Men's Golf
EUGENE – The Oregon men's golf team wraps up its fall season next week as it travels to San Diego, Calif., for The Gifford. The three-day tournament opens on Nov. 2.
The Gifford is played at the par-71, 6,996-yard La Costa Legends Course. Started in 2005, the tournament is in its 11th year with host UCLA taking home the crown last season.
Host: UCLA
Course: La Costa Golf Course
Course Info: Par-71, 6,996 yards
Tee Time: TBA
Field: Arkansas, Colorado, Harvard, Marquette, Northwestern, Oregon, San Diego State, San Jose State, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M, USF, Washington, Wisconsin and UCLA
Duck Lineup: Zach Foushee, Thomas Lim, Edwin Yi, Sulman Raza and Aaron Wise
ABOUT THE DUCKS
The Ducks are coming off a tenth-place finish at the Nike Collegiate Invitational. Through three tournaments, the team has one win under its belt after a successful appearance at the Husky Invitational where Oregon took home a share of the tournament title for a second consecutive season. The Ducks also finished third at The Jackrabbit behind a strong performance from Aaron Wise that saw the sophomore earn co-medalist honors. Oregon returns nine players from a successful 2014-15 campaign that saw the team record five tournament wins, tying them for second overall on the program single-season wins list. The Ducks wrapped up the 2015 season at the NCAA Championships in Bradenton, Fla., where they finished 23rd overall.
Active tournament wins leader Aaron Wise leads the Ducks after claiming his third career individual title at The Jackrabbit. Returning contributors Zach Foushee, Nigel Lett, Thomas Lim, Max Carter, Brandon McIver also aim to lead the Ducks to another successful year, with each having seen action last season. Brandon Baumgarten, Andrew Bonner and Sulman Raza also return to the Duck roster and will look to make an impact on the 2015-16 campaign after redshirting in 2014-15. Oregon adds two newcomers to this season's roster in freshmen Sam Foust and Edwin Yi. The Ducks are led by 10th-year head coach Casey Martin and third-year assistant coach Van Williams.
LAST TIME OUT
The Ducks carded a 5-under 283 in their final round for the team's lowest score to par of the tournament to finish 10th at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational earlier this month at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Course in Portland, Ore.
Oregon finished the championship at 6-under with a 54-hole final tally of 854 to end the weekend in 10th overall. Wake Forest won the team championship at 37-under. Beau Hossler of Texas earned medalist honors at 18-under.
Aaron Wise wrapped up the weekend tied for 16th on the player leaderboard at 6-under to lead the Ducks. Junior Thomas Lim tied his season low stroke total in the final round to finish at 4-under in a tie for 24th overall.
Coming off a pair 1-under rounds through his first 36 holes, senior Zach Foushee fired a 1-over 73 in his final round to conclude the tournament knotted in 34th at 1-under. Sulman Raza carded a 1-under 71 in his final round to wrap up the tournament with a 7-over final tally for the championship. Brandon McIver carded a 1-over 73 in his third round to finish in 68th overall.
BY THE NUMBERS
Aaron Wise has made his mark in several statistical categories, currently sitting 11th or better in the country in average score, score to par, par-4 scoring and fewest bogeys per round. Redshirt sophomore Andrew Bonner is tied for 19th in the country in eagles with three on the season. Oregon as a team is in the top 25 in par-5 scoring, eagles and subpar strokes per round.
WHAT'S ON THE LINE
The Ducks enter competition at The Gifford coming off a 10th place finish at the stacked Nike Collegiate Invitational. Oregon will look to bounce back this week with stronger performances throughout its lineup to ensure it finishes the fall season on a high note.
WINNING WISE
Much like head coach Casey Martin expressed after Aaron Wise's third-place finish at last month's Husky Invitational, it seems the sophomore has developed into an elite player in the collegiate ranks. With his win, Wise became just the fourth player in Oregon history to reach three tournament wins in his career, and only the second to reach that milestone in two or less seasons. Through nine rounds this fall, Wise has posted eight subpar rounds and no rounds over par.
PAC-12 GOLFER OF THE MONTH
Oregon sophomore Aaron Wise was named the Pac-12 Men's Golfer of the Month for September earlier this month. In six rounds of play in September, Wise posted five rounds under par and one round at even par. His 69.67 stroke average is currently good for 10th in the country.
2016 NCAA GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS HEADED FOR EUGENE
The University of Oregon was selected to host the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Golf Championships, the NCAA announced on Jan. 14, 2015. The tournament will be played at Eugene Country Club, with the women's championships held May 20-25 and the men's from May 27-June 1. This marks the first time Oregon will host both the men's and women's NCAA golf championships in the same year.
THE SUMMER OF WISE
Oregon sophomore Aaron Wise had an outstanding summer of amateur action this offseason with stellar performances at the Pacific Coast Amateur, Western Amateur and SCGA Amateur. Wise bested a deep field that featured a Pac-12 Player of the Year (Maverick McNealy), Big 12 Player of the Year (Beau Hossler) and an NCAA National Champion (Bryson DeChambeau), among others, to win the Pacific Coast Amateur in July. Wise added to the win with a second-place finish at the SCGA Amateur Championship and an appearance in the match-play finals at the Western Amateur.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
The Ducks' 2014-15 season was a historic one as the team racked up five tournament victories, tying it for second overall on the all-time program wins list with the 2009-10 team. The 2011-12 team remains the winningest team in Oregon men's golf history with seven tournament wins. The 2014-15 season also saw the Ducks win the most consecutive team championships as they took home four-straight victories at the Husky Invitational, Itani Homes Collegiate, Nike Golf Collegiate Invite and Ka'anapali Classic.
LOOKING FORWARD
With Oregon wrapping up its fall season this weekend at The Gifford, the Ducks will have a few months off before returning to competition Feb. 4 at the Amer Ari Invitational in Waikoloa, Hawaii, Feb. 4-6.
