Ducks, Xiong First After Opening Round of Wyoming Intercollegiate

Friday, February 17

Palm Springs, Calif.

All Day

University of Oregon

Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate

Ducks, Xiong First After Opening Round of Wyoming Intercollegiate

02/17/17 | Men's Golf

Round One Scorecard

By: Erin Kunesh

PALM DESERT, Calif. – The No. 10 Oregon Ducks men's golf team finished first of the field of 22 after the first round of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate. Freshman Norman Xiong fired a 5-under 67 at the par-72, 7,322-yard course at the Classic Club and is the overall leader after day one.

TCU is seven strokes behind the Ducks and is second at 1-over. No. 24 Colorado, No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 34 Kansas, and CSU – Fullerton comprise second through fifth place with scores of 291, 292 and 293 (Jayhawks and Titans, T5), respectively.

Individually, sophomore Edwin Yi is tied for fifth with a 2-under 70 along with Jack Ireland (CSU – Fullerton) and Tyler Reynolds (Little Rock). Stefano Mazzoli (TCU), Charlie Hillier (Kansas), and Spencer Painton (Colorado) are tied for second overall with 3-under 69s.

Redshirt senior Wyndham Clark is in a four-way tie for 11^th after a par-matching 72 first round, and fellow senior Sulman Raza is tied for 15^th with a 1-over 73. Freshman Kevin Geniza and redshirt sophomore Ryan Gronlund, who is golfing as an individual, are tied at 57 with 4-over 57s.

Live scoring of the second and third rounds can be found on Golfstat here - bit.ly/2kE3ZBp

How it Happened: Through the first eight holes, the Ducks were 1-under with TCU and tied for second. Texas Tech got the early lead and was 3-under. Through his first six holes of the day, Xiong was 2-under, giving him a tie for first right from the get-go. Yi was close behind at 1-under, tied for third.

After the front nine, the Ducks commanded the lead (-4), one stroke ahead of Pac-12 opponent Colorado (-3). CSU – Fullerton and Texas Tech were close behind at 2-under. Xiong met par on the ninth hole and had three birdies, putting him 3-under and holding down a sole first place spot. After a 1-over shot on the third hole, Yi made it up with a birdie on the fifth and eighth holes, moving him up to a tie for second behind Xiong.

Through 16, the Ducks were three strokes ahead of Colorado with CSU – Fullerton and TCU neck and neck at 1-over.

Clark made up for a 2-over 6 on the 10^th hole with back-to-back birdies on hole 13 and 14, moving him up to a tie for 12^th. Raza was tied for 40^th at 2-over. An even par and a birdie would skyrocket him to the top 15 on the day with the Eugene, Ore., native finishing 1-over (T15). Clark carded an eagle on the 18^th hole, giving him an even par for the first round.

Yi finished the day at 2-under for a tie for fifth. Geniza rounded out the Oregon lineup, finishing with a 4-over 76. Golfing as an individual, Gronlund also has a 76 to his name.

What it Means: The Ducks debuted with their best first round of the 2017 campaign with today's tally of 282. It's also the second time the team is first overall after the first day of a tournament. At the Arizona Intercollegiate, Oregon shot a combined 293 (placing them at No. 1 after the first round). At the Amer Ari Invitational, the Ducks were at 285 for the day, and tied for 7^th.

Today's score of 67 was Xiong's best opening collegiate round. At the Arizona Intercollegiate, the Canyon Lake, Calif., debuted with a 72 and at the Amer Ari Invitational, he shot a 74.

Entering the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate, Clark is ranked No. 4 overall by Golfstat with an average of 69.31 and Xiong is tied for 8th with an average of 69.67. If Xiong continues his dominance throughout the second and third rounds, he could see a substantial jump in the rankings to join his teammate at the top of the pack.

First Day Team Standings:
1. Oregon, 282 (-6)
2. TCU, 289 (+1)
3. Colorado, 291 (+3)
4. Texas Tech, 292 (+4)
T5. Kansas, 293 (+5)
T5. CSU – Fullerton, 293 (+5)
7. Wyoming, 297 (+9)
8. Loyola Marymount, 299 (+11)
T9. Nebraska, 300 (+12)
T9. Little Rock, 300 (+12)
11. CSU – Northridge, 302 (+14)
12. Gonzaga, 303 (+15)
T13. UNCW, 304 (+16)
T13. Old Dominion, 304 (+16)
T13. Denver, 304 (+16)
T16. Fresno State, 305 (+17)
T16. South Dakota State,
18. Stephen F. Austin, 307 (+19)
19. UT Arlington, 310 (+22)
20. Oral Roberts, 311 (+23)
21. UC Riverside, 312 (+24)
22. Southern Utah, 322 (+34)

Oregon Lineup:
1 Norman Xiong (FR.), 67 (-5)
T5 Edwin Yi (SO.), 70 (-2)
T11 Wyndham Clark (RSR.), 72 (E)
T15 Sulman Raza (RSR.), 73 (+1)
T57 Kevin Geniza (FR.), 76 (+4)

Ind. T57 Ryan Gronlund (RSO.), 76 (+4)

Day One Individual Leaders:
1 Norman Xiong (Oregon), 67 (-5)
T2 Stefano Mazzoli (TCU), 69 (-3)
T2 Charlie Hillier (Kansas), 69 (-3)
T2 Spencer Painton (Colorado), 69 (-3)
T5 Edwin Yi (Oregon), 70 (-2)
T5 Jack Ireland (CSU – Fullerton), 70 (-2)
T5 Tyler Reynolds (Little Rock), 70 (-2)

Quotes: Head coach Casey Martin -

"I'm happy with how our guys performed today, because the conditions were difficult and there was some high winds. The Classic Club course is not an easy one either. Norman's round was phenomenal. Simply put – the kid is good."

Looking Ahead: The second round of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate will begin tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. PT.

Follow the Ducks: Follow all of the University of Oregon men's golf action both on and off the greens. Make sure to follow @OregonMGolf on Twitter. Also follow the team on Facebook by "liking" Oregon Men's Golf Team and following Oregon Men's Golf on Instagram.

#GoDucks