University of Oregon
NCAA Championships (Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club)
NCAA First Round Cut Short After Rain, Darkness
05/26/17 | Men's Golf
Photo Credit: Tim Cowie Photography
SUGAR GROVE, Ill. - The No. 9 University of Oregon men's golf team finished the first day of the 2017 NCAA championships at even par tied for 11th with Oklahoma and Kent State. At the par-72, 7,300-yard Rich Harvest Farms course, the Ducks and Golden Flashes are through holes 11-14, and the Sooners are on 8-10. Play was suspended due to darkness following lengthy weather delays.
15 of the 30 teams fully completed the first round, while the remainder will close up tomorrow.
The conclusion of the first round will begin tomorrow morning at 4:30 a.m. PT (6:30 a.m. CT), followed by the start of the second round of stroke play with the first group to begin at 5:15 a.m. PT (7:15 a.m. CT). Oregon will once again be paired with Illinois and Kent State for the second round and will tee off from the first hole beginning at 6:10 a.m. PT (8:10 a.m. CT)
Redshirt senior Sulman Raza currently leads the Ducks' lineup at 1-under and tied for 24th. Both freshman Norman Xiong and sophomore Edwin Yi are at even par and tied for 41st. Redshirt senior Wyndham Clark is tied for 62nd at +1, while redshirt sophomore Ryan Gronlund rounds out the Oregon lineup at +5, T137.
Vanderbilt currently leads the field at 8-under through 15-18 holes. Auburn, who finished out the full first round is in second with a 6-under 282. Oklahoma State and USC follow in third and fourth respectively, both through 15-18 as well.
The top two individuals that completed the first round are Braden Thornberry (Ole Miss) and Jacob Solomon (Auburn) with scores of 66 (-6) and 67 (-5), respectively.
View the full leaderboard and follow live scoring of the remainder of the 2017 NCAA championships on Golftstat here - http://bit.ly/2r1XHQ1
How it Happened: To begin the day, the Ducks came out hot right from the gate and were 7-under in the first five holes. A lot of that early success was contributed by back-to-back-to-back birdies by Raza, who carried over his magic from securing the 2016 NCAA championship title for the Ducks. At 3-under, the Eugene native was tied for third early on. Clark, Xiong and Yi all opened the championships meeting par on the 10th hole followed by a birdie on the 11th.
From holes 13-16, Oregon was tied for second with Vanderbilt and Auburn at 6-under, following Baylor at 9-under. Both Xiong and Raza held a 2-under position and were tied for 12th. After opening with a bogey, Gronlund proceeded to meet par the following five holes.
At 1:04 p.m. PT (3:04 p.m. CT), the first rain delay was called. After an attempt to send the golfers back out on the links, with some taking only two swings, they were promptly called back in after conditions looked to worsen.
Play was officially resumed at 4:15 p.m. PT (6:15 p.m. CT) with the Ducks at hole 16-18.
Oregon was able to make the turn to advance onto the front nine before play was called again due to darkness.
What it Means: The Ducks will resume play of the first round on Saturday morning beginning at 4:30 a.m. PT (6:30 a.m. CT) at the Rich Harvest Farms.
After the end of the first full round of the 2016 NCAA championships at the Eugene Country Club, the Ducks were tied for 19th and at +11 (291). Even with a start that could be considered sluggish, the NCAA championships week are long and grueling. From a T19 start to winning it all, anything can happen at the championships.
Oregon Lineup
T24 Sulman Raza - through 14 holes (-1)
T41 Norman Xiong - through 11 holes (E)
T41 Edwin Yi - through 12 holes (E)
T62 Wyndham Clark - through 11 holes (+1)
T137 Ryan Gronlund - through 13 holes (+5)
Quotes: Head coach Casey Martin -
Overall thoughts...
"We got off to an amazing start, which was great, because we hammered quite a bit. Where we ended today was pretty understandable considering the conditions with the rain and the wind - the course totally changed. We're grateful it's a long tournament, so we have chances to climb back up."
On if having to close out the first round before starting the second tomorrow changes the mindset...
"Not necessarily - if you have a good day, it can be really good. Getting to play 26 holes, especially if it's a nice day, we can really use that to our advantage. We're going to go in with that attitude and go in ready to attack."
On if the teams who got to complete the first round today have an advantage...
"Yes, it's a huge advantage for them for sure. They had good weather, and we had bad weather. It's a pretty big deal. But, we can only control ourselves and our play, so that's what we're going to do."
Sophomore Edwin Yi -
Overall thoughts...
"Today was a grind. We came out strong, but obviously the conditions got a lot harder and it is what it is. It's only the first round though, so we have three rounds plus another nine holes to climb to the top. We're here to grind, so until four rounds are over, we're still in this.
On having to finish out first round play in the morning...
"This tournament is a marathon, so today we didn't play as much, but tomorrow is going to be 26 holes or so, so we just have to be mentally prepared for a long day. We'll have some bogeys as well as some birdies, so we're just going to try to play the best we can."
Looking Ahead: The Ducks will once again be paired with Illinois and Kent State for the second round of the NCAA championships and will tee off from the first hole beginning at 6:10 a.m. PT (8:10 a.m. CT) on Saturday morning following the conclusion of the first round.
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.
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