Wednesday, April 24
Eugene, OR
8:00 AM
University of Oregon
vs
Pac-12 Championships
Photo by: Samuel Marshall/Eric Evans Photo
Windy Final Round Leaves Ducks Fifth
04/24/19 | Men's Golf
The Oregon men looked to make a charge in Wednesday's final round of the Pac-12 Championship, but windy conditions made scoring difficult.
EUGENE, Ore. — Windy conditions blew away Oregon's chances of charging up the leaderboard Wednesday in the final round of the Pac-12 Championship tournament, with the Ducks remaining in fifth place at the par-71, 7,044-yard Eugene Country Club.
Senior Ryan Gronlund shot even par over the final 18 holes to finish even for the 72-hole tournament, in a tie for 10th place individually. The Ducks were alone in fourth place Wednesday entering the final few holes, where they made a charge to end Tuesday's round, but they played the final three holes Wednesday at a collective 6 over.
"I don't think I've ever seen (ECC) play as hard as it did today," Gronlund said. "The rough is high, the greens are fast and then you mix in, what, 10 to 15 mile an hour winds? It's U.S. Open golf out here."
The Ducks, who entered the tournament ranked No. 39 in the country, now await their NCAA Tournament fate when regional seedings are announced May 1.
How It Happened: The Ducks entered the day a collective 9 over and shot 22 over Wednesday to finish at 31-over 1,451 (364-353-357-377). For the second day in a row, Oregon improved after the turn, from 13 over on the front nine to 9 over on the back; the UO men were collectively 3 over through No. 15 but went 6 over in the last three holes. One of their playing partners for the final round, Arizona State, was 2 under over the final three, accounting for the eight-shot difference between the Ducks and fourth-place Sun Devils in the team standings.
Gronlund led the Ducks for the second day in a row, following up his round of 4-under 67 on Tuesday with a 71 on Wednesday. He had two birdies, at No. 13 and No. 14, and one bogey on each side.
"If you would have given me 18 pars at the beginning of the day, I would have said OK, I'm not going to bother playing, I'll take that," Gronlund said.
Freshman Yin Ho Yue followed his 71 on Tuesday with a 73 on Wednesday. In his first collegiate postseason tournament, the first-year Duck was legitimately just happy to be there, he said.
"I came to school with no expectations, to just try my best and try to get better," he said. "Being able to actually play Pac-12s, it's almost a dream come true to me."
Yue summed up the challenge the wind posed Wednesday, noting that he carded bogey on all three par-3 holes on the front side.
"I was honestly striping every single one of those, and I just couldn't get the distance right," he said. "So yeah, it was really hard to calculate with how much the wind was blowing."
Yue finished at 4-over 288 for the tournament, in a tie for 16th. He was five spots better than freshman Craig Ronne, who opened the day in position to play for a top-10 finish but carded a final-round 78. Sophomore Donald Kay shot 76 on Wednesday to finished tied for 23rd at 6-over 290. Freshman Tom Gueant shot 79 on Wednesday and senior Edwin Yi wrapped it up for the Ducks with an 81.
On the Leaderboard: No. 17 Stanford managed to shoot 4 over Wednesday and won the tournament at 7-under collectively, seven shots better than UCLA. Cal's Collin Morikawa was the individual medalist at 12 under for the tournament. (68-70-64-70—272).
Up Next: Oregon awaits word of its regional seeding and location May 1.
Senior Ryan Gronlund shot even par over the final 18 holes to finish even for the 72-hole tournament, in a tie for 10th place individually. The Ducks were alone in fourth place Wednesday entering the final few holes, where they made a charge to end Tuesday's round, but they played the final three holes Wednesday at a collective 6 over.
"I don't think I've ever seen (ECC) play as hard as it did today," Gronlund said. "The rough is high, the greens are fast and then you mix in, what, 10 to 15 mile an hour winds? It's U.S. Open golf out here."
The Ducks, who entered the tournament ranked No. 39 in the country, now await their NCAA Tournament fate when regional seedings are announced May 1.
How It Happened: The Ducks entered the day a collective 9 over and shot 22 over Wednesday to finish at 31-over 1,451 (364-353-357-377). For the second day in a row, Oregon improved after the turn, from 13 over on the front nine to 9 over on the back; the UO men were collectively 3 over through No. 15 but went 6 over in the last three holes. One of their playing partners for the final round, Arizona State, was 2 under over the final three, accounting for the eight-shot difference between the Ducks and fourth-place Sun Devils in the team standings.
Gronlund led the Ducks for the second day in a row, following up his round of 4-under 67 on Tuesday with a 71 on Wednesday. He had two birdies, at No. 13 and No. 14, and one bogey on each side.
"If you would have given me 18 pars at the beginning of the day, I would have said OK, I'm not going to bother playing, I'll take that," Gronlund said.
Freshman Yin Ho Yue followed his 71 on Tuesday with a 73 on Wednesday. In his first collegiate postseason tournament, the first-year Duck was legitimately just happy to be there, he said.
"I came to school with no expectations, to just try my best and try to get better," he said. "Being able to actually play Pac-12s, it's almost a dream come true to me."
Yue summed up the challenge the wind posed Wednesday, noting that he carded bogey on all three par-3 holes on the front side.
"I was honestly striping every single one of those, and I just couldn't get the distance right," he said. "So yeah, it was really hard to calculate with how much the wind was blowing."
Yue finished at 4-over 288 for the tournament, in a tie for 16th. He was five spots better than freshman Craig Ronne, who opened the day in position to play for a top-10 finish but carded a final-round 78. Sophomore Donald Kay shot 76 on Wednesday to finished tied for 23rd at 6-over 290. Freshman Tom Gueant shot 79 on Wednesday and senior Edwin Yi wrapped it up for the Ducks with an 81.
On the Leaderboard: No. 17 Stanford managed to shoot 4 over Wednesday and won the tournament at 7-under collectively, seven shots better than UCLA. Cal's Collin Morikawa was the individual medalist at 12 under for the tournament. (68-70-64-70—272).
Up Next: Oregon awaits word of its regional seeding and location May 1.
Players Mentioned
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