Scavo Closes Out Regular Season on Home Course

The Oregon women's golf team will close out its regular season by co-hosting the fifth annual Silverado Showdown in Napa, Calif., beginning this Sunday (7:45 a.m. PT) at the Silverado Country Club North Course.

While the Ducks may be 500 miles away from Eugene Country Club for the three-day tournament, the saying "there's no place like home" will still hold true for junior Kathleen Scavo. The Silverado Country Club is located ten minutes down the road from Scavo's alma mater – Justin Siena High School – making it her home course.

"I'm really excited to go back," said Scavo. "It feels like a home tournament."

Scavo has boasted four top-20 individual finishes this season, including a tie for first at the East and West Match Play in the fall after shooting an impressive 7 under. Despite performing steadily for the Ducks over the course of the season, Scavo understands that she cannot overlook the course she will face this weekend, even if it is familiar territory.

"It can be hard playing on one of your home courses," Scavo said. "There's sometimes some added pressure, even though I am familiar with it."

Scavo's season stats – a scoring average of 73.00 and eight rounds at par or better – suggest she has handled pressure well throughout the season. However, pressure in golf is imminent, and Scavo is no exception.

The junior has been coping with pressure all year as one of the Ducks' veteran leaders, and it will undoubtedly be felt on her home turf. Scavo acknowledges that separating the pressure from her game is vital, and drawing from her past experiences will be key heading into the tournament.

"As I've played in college I feel like I'm better prepared," said Scavo. "I have a little bit more mental toughness than I have had in the past.

"I just have to stick to my own game plan and treat it like any other tournament."

Course management and sticking to the game plan has been a point of emphasis all season for head coach Ria Scott, and Scavo and the Ducks will look for consistency in those areas in order to be competitive against this weekend's deep field.

Oregon is set to host arguably the toughest field it has seen all season with nine ranked opponents coming to Napa, including four top-10 programs – No. 1 UCLA, No. 6 Texas, No. 9 USC and No. 10 Arizona State.

Rankings aside, the Ducks have proven they have all the elements needed to go low with some of the best teams in the country. Oregon shot a 278 in round two of the Westbrook Invitational and a 281 in the second round of the Ping/ASU Invitational, both top-five scores in UO single-round history, but struggled in the following rounds, keeping the Ducks from complete performances.

"There's a lot of positives with our team," said Scavo. "We have the ability; we've shown it multiple times."

Scavo and the Ducks are focused on producing more consistent results at the Silverado Showdown, an event the Ducks won in 2015, as they get ready for postseason competition. And for Scavo, the regular-season finale will come at a course that will offer both the comfort and pressure that come along with familiarity.

"We're just really looking forward to this tournament," said Scavo. "We are all very capable and have a lot of potential and great ability.

"We just need to hone it in and take control of how we want it to turn out."

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Players Mentioned

Kathleen Scavo

University of Oregon Athletics