Monday, March 27
Eugene, Ore.
All Day
University of Oregon
vs
Duck Invitational
Photo by: GoDucks.com
Raza, Ducks Go Low At Eugene CC
03/27/17 | Men's Golf
Oregon leads as a team, and Eugene native Sulman Raza leads the field individually entering Tuesday's final round of the Duck Invitational.
EUGENE, Ore. — The host team roared to the front of the pack in the second of two rounds in the 28th annual Duck Invitational at Eugene Country Club on Monday, as the No. 5 Oregon men's golf team shot a tournament-low round of 277 to take a 10-stroke lead into Tuesday's final round.
Playing the course where his putt made Oregon the 2016 NCAA team champions, Eugene native Sulman Raza enjoyed a banner day as well. Playing as an individual, Raza went 11 under overall for the day, including a tournament-low round of 7-under 64 in his second trip around the par-71, 7,020-yard course.
How It Happened: After finishing the opening round tied for first with Arizona as a team at 1-under 283, all five players comprising Oregon's team entry shot par or better in the second round. Raza outdid them all, opening up a seven-stroke lead on the field entering Tuesday's final round, which begins at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start.
"That was such a great thing," UO coach Casey Martin said. "He's been battling through some stuff, and to see him do that — (assistant coach) John (Ellis) and I were texting back and forth how excited we were for him, because that's a breakthrough. And he's done so much for Oregon golf. He's struggled, and he's one of our better players, so to see him break through is tremendous."
UO freshman Norman Xiong shot 3-under 68 in the second round to finish the day tied for second individually at 4-under 138, one of two players seven strokes back of Raza. Senior Wyndham Clark shot a consistent 70-69—139 and is tied for fourth individually.
Another Duck playing as an individual, Nigel Lett, shot two rounds of 70 and is in a three-player tie for sixth at 140. One stroke back of that group is a three-player pack that includes UO sophomore Edwin Yi, who carded a 70-71—141. Oregon's fourth counting player on the day was Kevin Geniza (73-69—142) and three strokes back of him is Ryan Gronlund (74-71—145).
"We didn't have our best stuff early on," Martin said. "The conditions were probably part of that; it was as wet as I've ever seen Eugene Country Club. This course drains wonderfully, and it was a swamp. So we weren't great to start, but to their credit — to our credit — the guys hung in there, they battled. We didn't do anything really bad and then made some birdies coming in, and have a lead."
The Team Race: Arizona was holding strong with the Ducks after the first round and shot a solid 287 in the second, but that was no match for Oregon's sterling second round. The Wildcats finished with a two-round team score of 570, three strokes ahead of third-place Oregon State.
San Diego State finished the day in fourth at 284-293—577, one stroke ahead of Utah (286-292—578). Oregon enters Tuesday poised to win the Duck Invitational for the first time since 2013, also the last year a UO player led the field individually, in that case Jonathan Woo.
The Individual Race: Raza shot the two best rounds of the day, firing an opening round 67 to lead the field by two strokes, then sprinting out to a seven-stroke lead with his second-round 64. Raza's 13 birdies led the field, and he attacked the course with a well-rounded game, going 2 under on par-3 holes, 4 under on par-4 holes, and 5 under on par-5 holes, in each case leading the field alone or in a tie.
Petter Mikalsen of Denver is tied for second with Xiong, and Brad Reeves of Arizona is tied with Clark for fourth. Brad Reeves of Arizona and Kevin Murphy of Oregon State finished the day tied with Oregon's Lett for sixth.
Up Next: The tournament concludes with a third-round shotgun start Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.
Playing the course where his putt made Oregon the 2016 NCAA team champions, Eugene native Sulman Raza enjoyed a banner day as well. Playing as an individual, Raza went 11 under overall for the day, including a tournament-low round of 7-under 64 in his second trip around the par-71, 7,020-yard course.
How It Happened: After finishing the opening round tied for first with Arizona as a team at 1-under 283, all five players comprising Oregon's team entry shot par or better in the second round. Raza outdid them all, opening up a seven-stroke lead on the field entering Tuesday's final round, which begins at 8:30 a.m. with a shotgun start.
"That was such a great thing," UO coach Casey Martin said. "He's been battling through some stuff, and to see him do that — (assistant coach) John (Ellis) and I were texting back and forth how excited we were for him, because that's a breakthrough. And he's done so much for Oregon golf. He's struggled, and he's one of our better players, so to see him break through is tremendous."
UO freshman Norman Xiong shot 3-under 68 in the second round to finish the day tied for second individually at 4-under 138, one of two players seven strokes back of Raza. Senior Wyndham Clark shot a consistent 70-69—139 and is tied for fourth individually.
Another Duck playing as an individual, Nigel Lett, shot two rounds of 70 and is in a three-player tie for sixth at 140. One stroke back of that group is a three-player pack that includes UO sophomore Edwin Yi, who carded a 70-71—141. Oregon's fourth counting player on the day was Kevin Geniza (73-69—142) and three strokes back of him is Ryan Gronlund (74-71—145).
"We didn't have our best stuff early on," Martin said. "The conditions were probably part of that; it was as wet as I've ever seen Eugene Country Club. This course drains wonderfully, and it was a swamp. So we weren't great to start, but to their credit — to our credit — the guys hung in there, they battled. We didn't do anything really bad and then made some birdies coming in, and have a lead."
The Team Race: Arizona was holding strong with the Ducks after the first round and shot a solid 287 in the second, but that was no match for Oregon's sterling second round. The Wildcats finished with a two-round team score of 570, three strokes ahead of third-place Oregon State.
San Diego State finished the day in fourth at 284-293—577, one stroke ahead of Utah (286-292—578). Oregon enters Tuesday poised to win the Duck Invitational for the first time since 2013, also the last year a UO player led the field individually, in that case Jonathan Woo.
The Individual Race: Raza shot the two best rounds of the day, firing an opening round 67 to lead the field by two strokes, then sprinting out to a seven-stroke lead with his second-round 64. Raza's 13 birdies led the field, and he attacked the course with a well-rounded game, going 2 under on par-3 holes, 4 under on par-4 holes, and 5 under on par-5 holes, in each case leading the field alone or in a tie.
Petter Mikalsen of Denver is tied for second with Xiong, and Brad Reeves of Arizona is tied with Clark for fourth. Brad Reeves of Arizona and Kevin Murphy of Oregon State finished the day tied with Oregon's Lett for sixth.
Up Next: The tournament concludes with a third-round shotgun start Tuesday at 8:30 a.m.
Players Mentioned
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