Ducks Open Windy City Classic on Monday

CHICAGO - Less than a week removed from a win at the Molly Collegiate Invitational, the Oregon women's golf team will be back in action on Monday to open the Windy City Classic with a 36-hole day at Glen View Club.

The Ducks captured their first team win of the season and eighth under head coach Derek Radley last Tuesday in Seaside, Calif., after opening their 2023-24 season with a runner-up showing at the Annika Intercollegiate. Oregon has boasted an individual medalist in each of its first two tournaments - freshman Kiara Romero finished as the co-champion in her collegiate debut at the Annika Intercollegiate, and senior Ashleigh Park won the Molly Collegiate Invitational by four strokes for the first victory of her career.

Oregon will play at the Windy City Classic for the third year in a row and sixth time in program history. The Ducks finished third in Chicago last fall, after a fifth-place showing in the fall of 2021.

Windy City Collegiate Classic
Dates: Monday, Oct. 2 - Tuesday, Oct. 3
Location: Chicago, Ill.
Course: Glen View Club
Par/Yards: 72/6,368
Format: 54 holes of stroke play; 36 holes on Monday, 18 holes on Tuesday

How To Follow
Live scoring for the Windy City Classic will be available at Golfstat.com. Live updates will be provided throughout the tournament on Twitter at @OregonWGolf.

LIVE SCORING LINK

The Field (15 Teams)
Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, Duke, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa State, Louisville, Northwestern, Oregon, Texas, UCLA, USC, Virginia, Wake Forest

Teeing Off For The Ducks
1. Ashleigh Park
2. Minori Nagano
3. Kiara Romero
4. Briana Chacon
5. Ching-Tzu Chen
Ind. Anika Varma

Numbers To Know
-51 - The Ducks have shot a combined 51-under par on par-5 holes through their first two tournaments of the season.
8 - Oregon's win last week at the Molly Collegiate Invitational was its eighth under head coach Derek Radley, all coming since the spring of 2021.
39 - Oregon has had 39 individual medalists in its history after Kiara Romero and Ashleigh Park earned wins at the Annika Intercollegiate and Molly Collegiate Invitational, respectively.
296 - Briana Chacon is No. 6 in Oregon history with 296 career birdies, four away from becoming the sixth Duck ever to reach 300. Ching-Tzu Chen is No. 9 with 276 career birdies.

Park, Ducks Win Molly Collegiate Invitational
The first career win for senior Ashleigh Park powered Oregon to its first team victory of the 2023-24 season and eighth under head coach Derek Radley last Tuesday at the Molly Collegiate Invitational. After entering the final day of competition at Bayonet Golf Course in third place and three strokes off the lead, the Ducks put together a stellar 11-under 277 in the final round to overtake San Jose State and finish in a tie for first with California at 28-under par. Oregon won the fifth-score tiebreaker with the Golden Bears to secure the team title. The trio of Park, Minori Nagano and Kiara Romero combined to shoot 11-under par in the final round and fuel Oregon's comeback win. Park put together a stellar 68-67-68 week to win the tournament by four strokes at 13-under par, while Nagano (-8) tied for fifth and Romero (-6) finished 10th to give Oregon three players in the top 10. Ching-Tzu Chen also performed well as an individual in a tie for 13th overall at 4 under, and Briana Chacon tied for 20th at 1 under to put five total Ducks in the top 20. The Ducks tied with California for the most birdies in the field with 70, and Park's 16 total birdies tied for second-most in the field.

Romero Dazzles In Collegiate Debut
Oregon's 2023-24 season opener was headlined by true freshman Kiara Romero, who finished as the co-champion in her collegiate debut while leading the Ducks to a runner-up finish. Romero fired a stellar 5-under 67 in her first round as a Duck, and followed that up with a 1-under 71 and 2-under 70 to tie as the individual medalist at 8-under par. Romero was second in the field with 15 total birdies and made just seven bogeys, including zero in her terrific opening round. The Ducks put together a phenomenal finish in the final round to jump past defending NCAA champion Wake Forest and place second, shooting a combined 13-under par over the final five holes. Oregon was 6-under par on the 18th hole alone in round three, fueled by eagles from both Briana Chacon and Minori Nagano. Chacon earned a top-five finish in a tie for fifth at 7-under par, Nagano tied for 15th at 5 under, and Ashleigh Park gave the Ducks four players in the top 20 in a tie for 18th at 2 under.

Radley Hires Krissy Carman As Assistant Coach
With Monica Vaughn moving into a volunteer role with the Ducks and taking on a new opportunity with the Oregon Golf Association, Derek Radley announced the hiring of Krissy Carman as the Ducks' new assistant coach. An Oregon native and graduate from Portland State, Carman was the 2022 USGA Mid-Amateur Champion and competed over the summer as the U.S. Women's Open and the U.S. Women's Amateur.