Sunday, May 22
Scottsdale, AZ
All Day
University of Oregon
vs
NCAA Championships
Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Match Play In Sight After Sizzling Finish Sunday
05/22/22 | Women's Golf
Oregon remains in second place at the NCAA Championship tournament after recording three birdies on the 18th hole Sunday.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Another sizzling finish Sunday got the Oregon women's golf team through to the final round of stroke play at the NCAA Championship tournament, and well-positioned for a top seed into the match-play quarterfinals.
The Ducks played the back nine under par for the second day in a row Sunday, thanks to three birdies on the 18th hole that cemented Oregon's hold on second place in the team race behind Stanford. Birdies on the final hole of the day by Briana Chacon, Ching-Tzu Chen and Tze-Han (Heather) Lin got the UO women to even par for the day, and for the second straight round at the 6,340-yard Grayhawk Golf Club.
The field was cut from 24 teams to 15 following Sunday's round, and the Ducks advanced comfortably at 9-over 873 for the tournament. That trailed the Cardinal by nine strokes, after Stanford shot 5 under Sunday, but Oregon also had a four-stroke advantage on third-place Texas A&M.
A year after sitting in 10th place after three rounds, and ultimately falling short of reaching the match-play quarterfinals, Oregon enters Monday's final round of stroke play in this year's tournament with a 19-stroke lead over the eight-team cut line for Tuesday's quarterfinals.
"Each day we're trying to keep the hammer down, and that's what we talked about — not giving any shots away, and really capitalizing on opportunities out there," UO coach Derek Radley said. "Finishing strong has been a motto of ours all year. So to finish the way we did, in style like that, shows me we've got confidence moving forward."
The four Ducks whose scores counted Sunday were 1 over at the turn, a solid start on a day when the Ducks mostly just needed to avoid a disastrous fall down the leaderboard. That quartet was 3 over for the day through 16 holes, and poised to slip a spot or two in the team standings, before Chen finished her round birdie-birdie and both Chacon and Lin also birdied the par-5 18th hole.
Lin was Oregon's last player of the day. Her third shot at 18 ended up on the back of the green, at the edge of the first cut where it met the rough. The ball settled just in front of a sand trap, a tricky lie that forced Lin to attempt a putt from her toes, perched in front of the trap. The Ducks' lone senior drained the 40-footer, and Oregon had a surge of momentum to end the day.
"The last few holes were pretty good," Lin said. "You know, 18 is obviously a birdie hole. I just had a lot of belief in my team that we would do well, and I think that's why we're in a good position right now."
How It Happened: Lin continued to set the tone for her team, recording a birdie on the par-4 third hole and carding par on the other eight holes on the front side. One year after having Oregon's highest score through three rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Lin leads the Ducks this year and is tied for second in the field at 2-under 214, including rounds of 1-under 71 both Saturday and Sunday.
Typically a stronger finisher, Lin opened this tournament with consecutive birdies on Friday. She closed out the weekend with Oregon's most memorable shot of the tournament so far, the 40-foot birdie putt from the fringe while precariously balanced on her toes in front of the trap.
"This tournament before the first round I was talking to my coach, like, I just had to start strong," Lin said. "Every shot counts in this tournament. You can't wait until the last day to get birdies. That's been my mindset, so when I started with two birdies it was like, this is the momentum I needed."
Lin was a freshman at Oregon when Radley and UO assistant Monica Vaughn took over the program. A bedrock of the culture Radley has sought to instill, she's now seizing the moment in her final collegiate tournament.
"It's crazy to think about when I was a freshman," Lin said. "Coach 'D' has helped me so much to contribute to this program. I've really enjoyed my time at Oregon, and everything I've done with the golf team and with athletics in general means a lot to me. Having all my teammates supporting me as a senior, it's really special."
While Lin had the cleanest card of the day for the Ducks, Chen and Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu recorded the most birdies Sunday, four each. A day after her score didn't count for Oregon, the reigning Pac-12 champion Lu was even at the turn Sunday with two birdies, then recorded two more on the back nine to finish the day at 1-under 71.
Chen was 1 under herself until a triple bogey on the par-3 16th hole. She bounced back with consecutive birdies at 17 and 18, however, getting back to even for the day.
Chacon was 3 over after 10 holes Sunday, but the NCAA's Albuquerque Regional champion birdied both par-5 holes on the back side — No. 11 and No. 18 — to finish 2 over for the day. The Ducks on Sunday didn't count the score of Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen, who had 14 pars and one bogey but played a three-hole stretch beginning at No. 9 in 8 over, before getting back on track with seven straight pars.
Team Leaderboard
1. Stanford 289-292-283—864 (E)
2. Oregon 297-288-288—873 (+9)
3. Texas A&M 292-297-288—877 (+13)
4. UCLA 295-291-292—878 (+14)
5. Auburn 296-290-299—885 (+21)
6. Florida State 296-295-296—887 (+23)
T7. San Jose State 307-296-285—888 (+24)
T7. LSU 296-291-301—888 (+24)
T9. Southern California 298-294-300—892 (+28)
T9. Georgia 303-291-298—892 (+28)
Ducks on the Leaderboard
T2. Tze-Han (Heather) Lin 72-71-71—214 (-2)
T20. Ching-Tzu Chen 76-73-72—221 (+5)
T34. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu 76-76-71—223 (+7)
T34. Briana Chacon 76-73-74—223 (+7)
T52. Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen 73-71-81—225 (+9)
What It Means: The Ducks missed the cut for match-play quarterfinals by just two strokes in 2021, but enter this year's final round of stroke play in much stronger position. They'll try to put together another solid round Monday to earn the highest seed possible for the start of match play.
"Naturally the final round of stroke play at the national championship is definitely the most pressure-packed day," Radley said. "The goal is to try to separate yourself from that cut line as much as possible, and we've done that. So tomorrow we're just gonna go out and do what we do: play confident and hopefully finish this thing off the right way."
Up Next: The Ducks will be paired with the Cardinal and Texas A&M for their final round of stroke play Monday, from the No. 1 tee beginning at 11:50 a.m.
The Ducks played the back nine under par for the second day in a row Sunday, thanks to three birdies on the 18th hole that cemented Oregon's hold on second place in the team race behind Stanford. Birdies on the final hole of the day by Briana Chacon, Ching-Tzu Chen and Tze-Han (Heather) Lin got the UO women to even par for the day, and for the second straight round at the 6,340-yard Grayhawk Golf Club.
The field was cut from 24 teams to 15 following Sunday's round, and the Ducks advanced comfortably at 9-over 873 for the tournament. That trailed the Cardinal by nine strokes, after Stanford shot 5 under Sunday, but Oregon also had a four-stroke advantage on third-place Texas A&M.
A year after sitting in 10th place after three rounds, and ultimately falling short of reaching the match-play quarterfinals, Oregon enters Monday's final round of stroke play in this year's tournament with a 19-stroke lead over the eight-team cut line for Tuesday's quarterfinals.
"Each day we're trying to keep the hammer down, and that's what we talked about — not giving any shots away, and really capitalizing on opportunities out there," UO coach Derek Radley said. "Finishing strong has been a motto of ours all year. So to finish the way we did, in style like that, shows me we've got confidence moving forward."
The four Ducks whose scores counted Sunday were 1 over at the turn, a solid start on a day when the Ducks mostly just needed to avoid a disastrous fall down the leaderboard. That quartet was 3 over for the day through 16 holes, and poised to slip a spot or two in the team standings, before Chen finished her round birdie-birdie and both Chacon and Lin also birdied the par-5 18th hole.
Lin was Oregon's last player of the day. Her third shot at 18 ended up on the back of the green, at the edge of the first cut where it met the rough. The ball settled just in front of a sand trap, a tricky lie that forced Lin to attempt a putt from her toes, perched in front of the trap. The Ducks' lone senior drained the 40-footer, and Oregon had a surge of momentum to end the day.
"The last few holes were pretty good," Lin said. "You know, 18 is obviously a birdie hole. I just had a lot of belief in my team that we would do well, and I think that's why we're in a good position right now."
How It Happened: Lin continued to set the tone for her team, recording a birdie on the par-4 third hole and carding par on the other eight holes on the front side. One year after having Oregon's highest score through three rounds of the NCAA Tournament, Lin leads the Ducks this year and is tied for second in the field at 2-under 214, including rounds of 1-under 71 both Saturday and Sunday.
Typically a stronger finisher, Lin opened this tournament with consecutive birdies on Friday. She closed out the weekend with Oregon's most memorable shot of the tournament so far, the 40-foot birdie putt from the fringe while precariously balanced on her toes in front of the trap.
"This tournament before the first round I was talking to my coach, like, I just had to start strong," Lin said. "Every shot counts in this tournament. You can't wait until the last day to get birdies. That's been my mindset, so when I started with two birdies it was like, this is the momentum I needed."
Lin was a freshman at Oregon when Radley and UO assistant Monica Vaughn took over the program. A bedrock of the culture Radley has sought to instill, she's now seizing the moment in her final collegiate tournament.
"It's crazy to think about when I was a freshman," Lin said. "Coach 'D' has helped me so much to contribute to this program. I've really enjoyed my time at Oregon, and everything I've done with the golf team and with athletics in general means a lot to me. Having all my teammates supporting me as a senior, it's really special."
While Lin had the cleanest card of the day for the Ducks, Chen and Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu recorded the most birdies Sunday, four each. A day after her score didn't count for Oregon, the reigning Pac-12 champion Lu was even at the turn Sunday with two birdies, then recorded two more on the back nine to finish the day at 1-under 71.
Chen was 1 under herself until a triple bogey on the par-3 16th hole. She bounced back with consecutive birdies at 17 and 18, however, getting back to even for the day.
Chacon was 3 over after 10 holes Sunday, but the NCAA's Albuquerque Regional champion birdied both par-5 holes on the back side — No. 11 and No. 18 — to finish 2 over for the day. The Ducks on Sunday didn't count the score of Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen, who had 14 pars and one bogey but played a three-hole stretch beginning at No. 9 in 8 over, before getting back on track with seven straight pars.
Team Leaderboard
1. Stanford 289-292-283—864 (E)
2. Oregon 297-288-288—873 (+9)
3. Texas A&M 292-297-288—877 (+13)
4. UCLA 295-291-292—878 (+14)
5. Auburn 296-290-299—885 (+21)
6. Florida State 296-295-296—887 (+23)
T7. San Jose State 307-296-285—888 (+24)
T7. LSU 296-291-301—888 (+24)
T9. Southern California 298-294-300—892 (+28)
T9. Georgia 303-291-298—892 (+28)
Ducks on the Leaderboard
T2. Tze-Han (Heather) Lin 72-71-71—214 (-2)
T20. Ching-Tzu Chen 76-73-72—221 (+5)
T34. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu 76-76-71—223 (+7)
T34. Briana Chacon 76-73-74—223 (+7)
T52. Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen 73-71-81—225 (+9)
What It Means: The Ducks missed the cut for match-play quarterfinals by just two strokes in 2021, but enter this year's final round of stroke play in much stronger position. They'll try to put together another solid round Monday to earn the highest seed possible for the start of match play.
"Naturally the final round of stroke play at the national championship is definitely the most pressure-packed day," Radley said. "The goal is to try to separate yourself from that cut line as much as possible, and we've done that. So tomorrow we're just gonna go out and do what we do: play confident and hopefully finish this thing off the right way."
Up Next: The Ducks will be paired with the Cardinal and Texas A&M for their final round of stroke play Monday, from the No. 1 tee beginning at 11:50 a.m.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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