Wednesday, May 31
Sugar Grove, Ill.
12:10 PM
University of Oregon
vs
Oklahoma
Ducks' Spirited Run Ends in Final
05/31/17 | Men's Golf
Photo Credit: Tim Cowie Photography
SUGAR GROVE, Ill. - The University of Oregon men's golf team closed out their storied season as the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Golf National Championship runner-ups after falling to Oklahoma 3-1-1 in the title match at the Rich Harvest Farms.
From what was supposed to be a rebuilding year following the 2016 NCAA title won at the Eugene Country Club, and the departure of Aaron Wise to the pros, head coach Casey Martin rallied his squad with the addition of freshman Norman Xiong and redshirt senior transfer Wyndham Clark to reach the NCAA championship finals yet again.
The Ducks are now 7-3 all-time in NCAA championship match play in their 29th appearance in the championships.
Second-place is the program's second-best finish in the championships (1st 2016, T3 match play in 2012 and 2010). In 1959, the Ducks finished tied for fourth.
A total of 12,150 fans were on hand during the week of the NCAA men's golf championships.
NCAA Match Play Championship Results
Blaine Hale def. Norman Xiong 4&3
Max McGreevy def. Edwin Yi 3&2
Wyndham Clark def. Rylee Reinerston 1UP
Ryan Gronlund A/S Grant Hirschman
Brad Dalke def. Sulman Raza 2&1
How it Happened: To earn the first point for the Sooners, Blaine Hale defeated Xiong 4&3 through the 15th green.
Sophomore Edwin Yi fell to Max McGreevy 3&2 on 16 giving Oklahoma their second point on the board. Yi never gave up the fight, as he was down three on the fifth hole and was able to claw his was back up to one.
Down two points, Clark ended his collegiate and amateur career with an Eagle on 18 for the 1-up win over Rylee Reinertson giving the Ducks' their lone point of the match.
Sophomore Ryan Gronlund and Grant Hirschman ended the match all squared up. Gronlund was able to fight back from a two-hole deficit to even the match.
In the deciding point for the championship, Brad Dalke earned the 2&1 win over redshirt sophomore Sulman Raza on the 17th hole, officially claiming the Sooner's first NCAA title since 1989.
Raza was able to square the match on the 10th hole, trailing through the front nine by at-most of 2-up. On the 14th and 15th hole, Dalke pushed ahead, going three-up, putting the match on Raza's shoulders yet again. Though it was thought the match would be decided on the 16th, Raza claimed the hole after Dalke had a bogey, giving him one more shot.
With a halved hole on 17, the Sooners earned the decision.
What it Means: The Ducks had a grueling week at the 2017 NCAA championships.
On Friday, the first round went through lengthy weather delays, giving the second wave of squads a chance to go back on the greens, but play was inevitably suspended due to darkness.
Oregon had to finish out the first round and play the full second round on Saturday for a total of 26 holes for some, and the Ducks were sitting at T12 at the end of the day.
With qualification to the final round of stroke play on the line, the Ducks needed to ensure they stayed within the top-15, and they were successful in that attempt by finishing T13.
Only the top-8 would advance to NCAA match play and after a miraculous round cushioned by four closing birdies by Gronlund, Oregon catapulted to a tie for fifth place with fellow Pac-12 member USC.
In the first round of match play, Clark would have to face his former teammates from Oklahoma State just one year after transferring. Though it was a tough realization and fight, the Ducks got the job done 3-2 in the morning session to advance to the semifinals against No. 1 seed Vanderbilt.
The curse of the No. 1 seed never claiming the NCAA title continued as the Ducks took down the Commodores 3-2, officially solidifying their run at defending their 2016 national title.
On the seventh day of competition and 126 holes later at the par-72, 7,300-yard Rich Harvest Farms, the Ducks successful season came to a close being named the NCAA championship runner-ups.
The Ducks are now 7-3 all-time in NCAA championship match play in their 29th appearance in the championships.
Second-place is the program's second-best finish in the championships (1st 2016, T3 match play in 2012 and 2010). In 1959, the Ducks finished tied for fourth.
Raza is 5-1 all-time in NCAA championship match play.
Quotes -
Oregon Coach Casey Martin speaking with Golf Channel's Chantel McCabe following the match
Martin – "Just an incredible run for us. To get back to defend our title and get to this point is awesome. We did come up short but it wasn't because we weren't scrapping or fighting. we were doing everything we could. Oklahoma played great. Congrats to them."
Martin – "Just scrapping and finding a way. Top level competitive golf is hard and you really have to dig deep. My guys did that, so as a coach I am so proud of them. Just an incredible run. Winning the Pac-12 Championship and getting this far is really special."
Martin – "There is a lot of reasons you want to be coaching golf but this is the icing on the cake. You want to get to this and have a chance to compete in the national championship. It's fun and I want to do it some more."
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
From what was supposed to be a rebuilding year following the 2016 NCAA title won at the Eugene Country Club, and the departure of Aaron Wise to the pros, head coach Casey Martin rallied his squad with the addition of freshman Norman Xiong and redshirt senior transfer Wyndham Clark to reach the NCAA championship finals yet again.
The Ducks are now 7-3 all-time in NCAA championship match play in their 29th appearance in the championships.
Second-place is the program's second-best finish in the championships (1st 2016, T3 match play in 2012 and 2010). In 1959, the Ducks finished tied for fourth.
A total of 12,150 fans were on hand during the week of the NCAA men's golf championships.
NCAA Match Play Championship Results
Blaine Hale def. Norman Xiong 4&3
Max McGreevy def. Edwin Yi 3&2
Wyndham Clark def. Rylee Reinerston 1UP
Ryan Gronlund A/S Grant Hirschman
Brad Dalke def. Sulman Raza 2&1
How it Happened: To earn the first point for the Sooners, Blaine Hale defeated Xiong 4&3 through the 15th green.
Sophomore Edwin Yi fell to Max McGreevy 3&2 on 16 giving Oklahoma their second point on the board. Yi never gave up the fight, as he was down three on the fifth hole and was able to claw his was back up to one.
Down two points, Clark ended his collegiate and amateur career with an Eagle on 18 for the 1-up win over Rylee Reinertson giving the Ducks' their lone point of the match.
Sophomore Ryan Gronlund and Grant Hirschman ended the match all squared up. Gronlund was able to fight back from a two-hole deficit to even the match.
In the deciding point for the championship, Brad Dalke earned the 2&1 win over redshirt sophomore Sulman Raza on the 17th hole, officially claiming the Sooner's first NCAA title since 1989.
Raza was able to square the match on the 10th hole, trailing through the front nine by at-most of 2-up. On the 14th and 15th hole, Dalke pushed ahead, going three-up, putting the match on Raza's shoulders yet again. Though it was thought the match would be decided on the 16th, Raza claimed the hole after Dalke had a bogey, giving him one more shot.
With a halved hole on 17, the Sooners earned the decision.
What it Means: The Ducks had a grueling week at the 2017 NCAA championships.
On Friday, the first round went through lengthy weather delays, giving the second wave of squads a chance to go back on the greens, but play was inevitably suspended due to darkness.
Oregon had to finish out the first round and play the full second round on Saturday for a total of 26 holes for some, and the Ducks were sitting at T12 at the end of the day.
With qualification to the final round of stroke play on the line, the Ducks needed to ensure they stayed within the top-15, and they were successful in that attempt by finishing T13.
Only the top-8 would advance to NCAA match play and after a miraculous round cushioned by four closing birdies by Gronlund, Oregon catapulted to a tie for fifth place with fellow Pac-12 member USC.
In the first round of match play, Clark would have to face his former teammates from Oklahoma State just one year after transferring. Though it was a tough realization and fight, the Ducks got the job done 3-2 in the morning session to advance to the semifinals against No. 1 seed Vanderbilt.
The curse of the No. 1 seed never claiming the NCAA title continued as the Ducks took down the Commodores 3-2, officially solidifying their run at defending their 2016 national title.
On the seventh day of competition and 126 holes later at the par-72, 7,300-yard Rich Harvest Farms, the Ducks successful season came to a close being named the NCAA championship runner-ups.
The Ducks are now 7-3 all-time in NCAA championship match play in their 29th appearance in the championships.
Second-place is the program's second-best finish in the championships (1st 2016, T3 match play in 2012 and 2010). In 1959, the Ducks finished tied for fourth.
Raza is 5-1 all-time in NCAA championship match play.
Quotes -
Oregon Coach Casey Martin speaking with Golf Channel's Chantel McCabe following the match
Martin – "Just an incredible run for us. To get back to defend our title and get to this point is awesome. We did come up short but it wasn't because we weren't scrapping or fighting. we were doing everything we could. Oklahoma played great. Congrats to them."
Martin – "Just scrapping and finding a way. Top level competitive golf is hard and you really have to dig deep. My guys did that, so as a coach I am so proud of them. Just an incredible run. Winning the Pac-12 Championship and getting this far is really special."
Martin – "There is a lot of reasons you want to be coaching golf but this is the icing on the cake. You want to get to this and have a chance to compete in the national championship. It's fun and I want to do it some more."
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
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Golf
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