Leach, Solhaug Pace Golfers in Spring Opener

Monday, January 30

Westlake Village, CA

All Day

University of Oregon

Southwestern Invitational

Photo by: Samantha Toy

01/30/23 | Men's Golf

Southwestern Invitational Round 1

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. – Greyson Leach shot a 3-under 69 and Greg Solhaug backed that with a 2-under 70 to help Oregon stand in third place after the opening round of the Southwestern Invitational Monday at North Ranch Country Club.

The Ducks were one of just four teams to break par in the 2023 spring opener.

Leach was tied for eighth place individually, while Solhaug was tied for 10^th.

How It Happened: Oregon finished four-under despite wet conditions that made the front nine play long, then saw increasing winds on the back nine.

Solhaug set the pace with four birdies on the front nine, including back-to-back birdies on No. 7 and No. 8. He was even on the backside with three birdies and three bogeys.

Leach got things rolling with birdies on No. 4 and No. 5, before holing out from the fairway on the par-4, 410-yard 10^th hole for eagle. He also birdied the par-3 17^th hole to get to three under for the round.

Owen Avrit got off to a slow start but rallied with four birdies on the back nine, including two on his final four holes to offset his only major blemish of the day, a double-bogey at No. 13. Avrit was tied for 15^th at 1-under 71.

The Ducks also counted a 74 from Nate Stember.

Jacob Sosa's course-record 61 helped No. 20 Texas take the day one lead at 18-under 270. No. 4 Arizona State was second at 275, followed by Oregon (284), Georgia (287), No. 19 San Diego State (288) and No. 14 Pepperdine and Washington tied at 290.

Quotable
Head Coach Casey Martin
"We had a solid start. A few hiccups but not bad for the first competitive round of the spring. The course and conditions are difficult. It's going to be a huge challenge tomorrow with the winds coming."

Notable: The eagle by Leach was his first of the season and third in his Oregon career … Solhaug's seven birdies were one back of the best effort of the round of eight birdies by Keaton Vo of Texas … Thomas Jenkins Jr., an NCAA Division II All-American who transferred to Oregon from Sonoma State, made his Duck debut and shot a 75.

Ducks On The Leaderboard
First Round
North Ranch Country Club (Par 72, 7,017 Yards)
3. Oregon – 284 (-4)
T8. Greyson Leach – 69 (-3)
T10. Greg Solhaug – 70 (-2)
T15. Owen Avrit – 71 (-1)
T33. Nate Stember – 74 (+2)
T40. Thomas Jenkins Jr. – 75 (+3)

Up Next: The Southwestern Invitational continues with the second round on Tuesday. The tournament can be seen live on Golf Channel from 1:30-4:30 p.m. Pacific.

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