University of Oregon
NCAA Championships (Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club)
Ducks Hold On to Advance to Final Round of NCAA Stroke Play
05/28/17 | Men's Golf
Photo Credit: Tim Cowie Photography
SUGAR GROVE, Ill. - The No. 9 University of Oregon men's golf team notched a third round of 289 (294-282-289--865, +1) to finish 13th at the par-72 7,300-yard Rich Harvest Farms course, officially qualifying the team to advance to the final round of stroke play on Monday.
Redshirt senior Wyndham Clark leads the Oregon lineup and is tied for 36 at 1-under (74-69-72--215). Redshirt sophomore Ryan Gronlund is tied for 44th after firing Oregon's best round of the day with a 70 and is at even par (78-68-70--216). Freshman Norman Xiong also landed within the top 50 and is 1-over (73-71-73--217). Sophomore Edwin Yi (75-74-74--223, +7) and redshirt senior Sulman Raza (72-77-77--226, +10) round out the Ducks' lineup tied for 95th and 112th, respectively.
The top-15 teams that will advance with Oregon to Monday's final round of stroke play include: Vanderbilt, Oklahoma, UNLV, USC, Illinois, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Virginia, Auburn, LSU, Texas, Florida State, Pepperdine and UCF.
The nine individual qualifiers from non-advancing teams include: Alex Del Rey Gonzalez (Arizona State), Chun An Yu (Arizona State), Cam Norman (Troy), Dawson Armstrong (Lipscomb), Denzel Ieremia (Iowa State), Ben Griffin (UNC), Braden Thornberry (Ole Miss), Mason Overstreet (Arkansas), and Jonathan Hardee (Alabama).
Oregon will be paired with Pepperdine and UCF for Monday's play, teeing off from the 10th hole at 9:30 a.m. PT (11:30 a.m. CT).
The Golf Channel will begin broadcasting of the NCAA championships on Monday from 1-5 p.m. PT (3-7 p.m. CT). Pre- and postgame coverage will be available on Golf Central, while daily updates will be on Morning Drive and online via Golf Channel Digital.
NCAA DI men's golf Monday schedule (times listed CT)
11:30 a.m. Tee times begin
2-3 p.m. Golf Central Pre Game
3-7 p.m. Live coverage
7-8 p.m. Golf Central
7:10 p.m. Individual medalist awards ceremony
7:25 p.m. Quarterfinal match play pairings determined
Following Monday's round, the field will be trimmed to eight and a 72-hole individual champion will be crowned. The eight qualifying teams will move onto NCAA match play with quarterfinals and semifinals set for Tuesday, and the championship match on Wednesday.
Vanderbilt currently leads the NCAA team race at 18-under (846), just one stroke ahead of the three-way tie for second between Oklahoma, UNLV, and USC at 17-under (847). Illinois is fifth overall with a 14-under 850.
Individually, Scottie Scheffler (Texas) is 12-under (204) after scoring 68's each round. Braden Thornberry (Ole Miss) follows two strokes behind (66-71-69--206, -10). Matthias Schwab (Vanderbilt) and Dylan Meyer (Illinois) are tied for third just one stroke off Thornberry at 207 (-9). Rico Hoey (USC) and Kyler Tate (UCF) are tied for fifth with 8-under 208's.
To view the full results from the first three days of the NCAA championships, visit Golfstat here - http://bit.ly/2r1XHQ1
How it Happened: The Ducks began the day at even par and in 13th just behind Texas and two strokes ahead of UCF and Iowa State.
Through holes six through eight, Oregon lost two strokes as everyone but Clark picked up some bogeys. Clark and Gronlund both picked up two birdies, while Xiong and Raza had one apiece.
Altogether, Oregon tallied eight birdies on the back nine before making the turn. Clark led the lineup and was tied for 25th at 3-under.
Through holes 8-11, UO and Texas were tied at 12th both a 1-under overall and on the day. Florida State was two strokes ahead of the Ducks and Longhorns, but 1-under with third round play.
Gronlund picked up his second Eagle of the tournament with his first on the eighth hole on Saturday, and on the second hole on Sunday.
Raza had a promising start to the front nine with back-to-back birdies, but had a tough double bogey on the third hole. Xiong opened turn play with a double bogey on the first hole.
Clark's highest jump of the day was a tie for 20th at 4-under, while Gronlund remained at even par T48, and Xiong was 2-over T69.
With closing holes to go, the Ducks' birdie count was at 14, met par 43 times, and had 15 bogeys and three double bogeys.
Both Gronlund, Xiong and Yi met par in the final two holes, while Raza and Clark had bogeys on the eighth hole and Clark had a tough bogey on nine after a short chip shot.
What it Means: Oregon will play one more round of NCAA stroke play on Monday after landing within the top 15 of the field on Sunday, but will need to be one of the top eight teams in order to advance to the match play beginning on Tuesday with quarterfinals.
Perhaps getting some mistakes out of their systems early on in play and having played the course three times will aid in shaving off some strokes in Monday's play.
Oregon Lineup
T36 Wyndham Clark (RSR) 74-69-72--215 (-1)
T44 Ryan Gronlund (RSO) 78-68-70--216 (E)
T50 Norman Xiong (FR) 73-71-73--217 (+1)
T95 Edwin Yi (SO) 75-74-74--223 (+7)
T112 Sulman Raza (RSR) 72-77-77--226 (+10)
Individual Field Leaders
1. Scottie Scheffler (Texas) 68-68-68--204 (-12)
2. Braden Thornberry (Ole Miss) 66-71-69--206 (-10)
T3. Matthias Schwab (Vanderbilt) 67-70-70--207 (-9)
T3. Dylan Meyer (Illinois) 71-67-69--207 (-9)
T5. Rico Hoey (USC) 74-68-66--208 (-8)
T5. Kyler Tate (UCF) 73-66-69--208 (-8)
Team Leaders
1. Vanderbilt (278-288-280--846, -18)
T2. Oklahoma (284-279-284--847, -17)
T2. UNLV (283-279-285--847, -17)
T2. USC (284-283-280--847, -17)
5. Illinois (282-283-285--850, -14)
Quotes: Head coach Casey Martin -
Overall thoughts on Sunday's round...
"We started off very poorly, and then got on a nice run, then screwed up, then got on another nice run, and then screwed up again. It's been a roller coaster ride. Part of it is due to the golf course - there are stretches where you can make birdies, and then there are some really tough stretches. So, it's partly related to that, but it's also a lot on ourselves. We've had a lot of unforced errors if you will, so that part leaves us wanting. I know if we weren't doing that we'd be right where we need to be."
On the difficulty of the course...
"There are a lot of intimidating holes and the greens are challenging as well. They test every part of your game - you have to hit it straight and you have to hit it far. There are easy birdie holes as well though, so it's not impossible by any stretch, but it will test you."
On making adjustments from the opening rounds...
"We have struggled this week. We had spurts of good golf, and then some frustrating bad stretches which have kept us back. The guys are still battling though, and we've never quit. We're still living to see another day. Time is running out though, and we need to show our best stuff tomorrow."
Redshirt sophomore Ryan Gronlund -
Overall thoughts...
"It was gettable today. The weather was a lot better than we thought it was going to be today (75 degrees and sunny/partly cloudy in the morning). We thought we were going to get rained on a vast majority of the day and it turned out to be a beautiful day."
On what the strategy will be going into the final round of stroke play...
"We'll probably have the same strategy for the first nine holes, and then if we get where we want to be, we'll stick with the same thing. However, if we have nine holes left and we have to make up six-seven-eight shots, it's going to be kind of run-and-gun, because it won't matter if we finish in the top 15 or ninth, we need to be in that top eight. We'll play it by ear, and see what we'll need to do."
On if the course has changed each day...
"Well, the first day sucked. The weather was atrocious and we were out there in standing water grinding away but wondering why we were even out there in those conditions. Yesterday was pretty good. It was still a little wet from the first day, but today was dry and it sort of started to show out what I'm sure they wanted it to be for the championships."
Looking Ahead: Oregon will be paired with Pepperdine and UCF for the final round of NCAA stroke play on Monday, and will tee off from the 10th hole at 9:30 a.m. PT (11:30 a.m. CT).
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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