Ducks Looking to Gain Confidence as they Open the Spring

Coming off last year's national runner-up finish and Pac-12 championship, the Oregon men's golf team finished the fall season looking for a boost in confidence going into the spring.

Having to replace last year's Pac-12 Player of the Year, Wyndham Clark, and 2016 NCAA Championship hero and Eugene native Sulman Raza, the Ducks tinkered with the lineup throughout the fall, searching for consistency and depth.

"The fall wasn't our best," said coach Casey Martin. "We had a few individual kids play really well but overall we weren't where we were in the fall as compared to years past."

Now, with four high-level tournaments against some of the best competition in collegiate golf under their belts, the Ducks will look for growth over the next few months.

"As a coach, you love to see guys improve," Martin said. "It's exciting to see them improve, so that's what I hope they can do. If we can just get incrementally better, that will make me happy."

Norman Xiong will likely be a key factor in how far the Ducks go this spring. The sophomore won twice in four tournaments during the fall and has played well in some of the biggest amateur events in the world.

"He's truly special and one of the best I've ever been around," Martin said. "He's so young so it's hard sometimes to put those expectations on him but he's really one a kind."

Two key returnees from last year's NCAA runner-up team, juniors Ryan Gronlund and Edwin Yi, will look to provide some depth behind Xiong after both turned in consistent fall seasons. Gronlund placed in the top 10 twice while Yi was his usual steady self finishing with a scoring average of 72.80.

The remaining two spots in the lineup will likely see a mix of veterans and newcomers. Freshman Donald Kay was in the lineup three times while junior Sam Foust and freshman Thomas Mulligan got two starts each and sophomore Kevin Geniza was in the five spot once.

Heading into this week's Amer Ari Invitational, Martin will hope to have the Ducks start heading in the right direction as they try to defend their Pac-12 title and make another deep postseason run.

"We just need some of our freshmen to develop and gain some confidence," Martin said. "Some of our other guys haven't played their best so if we can get them some confidence and some swagger heading into the spring I think we can get to where we want to be."