University of Oregon
Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate
Ducks Continue Dominance at Wyoming Intercollegiate
02/18/17 | Men's Golf
PALM DESERT, Calif. - The No. 10 Oregon men's golf team continued their dominant streak from the first round of the Wyoming Intercollegiate on Saturday. The Ducks are first overall at the Classic Club with an impressive second round of 271 and are 23-under total (553). Freshman Norman Xiong held onto his No. 1 overall spot from yesterday, while redshirt senior Wyndham Clark and sophomore Edwin Yi are tied for third atop the leaderboard
Stefano Mazzoli (TCU) is currently 8-under, four strokes behind Xiong, in second place. Jeremy Paul (Colorado) is tied with Clark and Yi for third.
Redshirt senior Sulman Raza and freshman Kevin Geniza, golfing as an individual, fired 74s today. Raza is tied for 39th and Geniza is tied at 60.
With Oregon No. 1 against the field of 22, Colorado follows and is second after a 266 (-19) on the day. Kansas is third at 7-under, one stroke ahead of fourth place Texas Tech. TCU tallied a 288 to round out the tournament's top five.
Live scoring of the third round can be found on Golfstat here - bit.ly/2kE3ZBp
How it Happened: With the skies looking dreary, something Ducks have grown accustomed to, Oregon began the second round with confidence coming off of day one.
Xiong's front nine was one golfers and coaches dream of. With two pars, he easily birdied seven, all while making it look effortless – a confidence extremely impressive from the freshman. The Canyon Lake, Calif., native had some wiggle room going into the back nine and went one stroke over par on holes 11, 15, and 16, still staying No. 1.
After nine, the Ducks were 14-under with the Colorado Buffaloes two strokes behind. Kansas and TCU were neck and neck at 2 and 3-under, respectively.
Yi made the jump to fourth from a 5th place tie after the first round with back-to-back-to-back birdies. Clark, who finished day one tied for 11th, sank par six times with three birdies to move him up to a 5th place tie.
With just finishing holes to go, Oregon was 24-under on the day, five strokes ahead of Pac-12 foe Colorado, and 17 strokes ahead of third place Kansas. The Jayhawks finished the day with a 7-under 276.
The Buffs closed the second round with a 266, 557 total. They sit four strokes behind the Ducks heading into tomorrow's final round.
What it Means: The Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate is only Xiong's third collegiate tournament. With headlines focusing on the mastery that Clark brought to 2016 NCAA champions, head coach Casey Martin can feel confident knowing the pure depth of his lineup. The Ducks are making their presence known early in the 2017 season, hinting at what could be another trip to the championship if they can sustain it.
Entering this tournament, Clark has a No. 4 ranking overall by Golfstat with an average of 69.31. Xiong is tied for 8th with an average of 69.67. If Xiong continues his dominance through the third round, he will see a substantial jump in the rankings, to joining Clark at the top of the nation's pack.
Second Day Team Standings:
1. Oregon, 282-271—533 (-23)
2. Colorado, 291-266—557 (-19)
3. Kansas, 293-276—569 (-7)
4. Texas Tech, 292-278—570 (-6)
5. TCU, 289-288—577 (+1)
6. Little Rock, 300-281—581 (+5)
7. Wyoming, 297-287—584 (+8)
8. Nebraska, 300-286—586 (+10)
9. CSU – Northridge, 302-286—588 (+12)
10. UNCW, 304-287—591 (+15)
T11. CSU – Fullerton, 293-301—594 (+18)
T11. South Dakota State, 305-289—594 (+18)
T13. Denver, 304-293—597 (+21)
T13. Loyola Marymount – CA, 299-298—597 (+21)
T15. UT Arlington, 310-288—598 (+22)
T15. Fresno State, 305-293—598 (+22)
17. Old Dominion, 304-295—599 (+23)
T18. Stephen F. Austin, 307-296—603 (+27)
T18. Gonzaga, 303-300—603 (+27)
20. UC Riverside, 312-292—605 (+29)
21. Oral Roberts, 311-296—607 (+31)
22. Southern Utah, 322-299—621 (+45)
Oregon Lineup:
1 Norman Xiong (FR.), 67-65--132 (-12)
T3 Edwin Yi (SO.), 70-67--137 (-7)
T3 Wyndham Clark (RSR.), 72-65--137 (-7)
T39 Sulman Raza (RSR.), 73-74--147 (+3)
T60 Kevin Geniza (FR.), 76-74--150 (+6)
Ind. T47 Ryan Gronlund (RSO.), 76- (+5)
Day Two Individual Leaders:
1 Norman Xiong (Oregon), 67-65--132 (-12)
2 Stefano Mazzoli (TCU), 69-67--136 (-3)
T3 Wydnham Clark (Oregon), 72-65--137 (-7)
T3 Edwin Yi (Oregon), 70-67--137 (-7)
T3 Jeremy Paul (Colorado), 73-64--137 (-7)
Quotes: Head coach Casey Martin -
"Another solid round from our guys today. Watching Edwin, Norman and Wyndham was amazing. They got really hot. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's final round to see how they handle the pressure."
Looking Ahead: The final round of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate will begin tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. PT.
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