Tuesday, October 3
Chicago, IL
All Day
University of Oregon
vs
Windy City Classic
Chen, Chacon Power Ducks To Third-Place Finish
10/03/23 | Women's Golf
CHICAGO — Late-round dramatics by fifth-year seniors Ching-Tzu Chen and Briana Chacon helped the Oregon women's golf team move up and snag a third-place finish at the Windy City Collegiate Classic on Tuesday at Glen View Club.
The Ducks ended the final round with an 8-under 280 to close in third place at 22-under par, just one stroke ahead of Duke, Texas and Wake Forest. Oregon's four counting scorers combined to shoot 5-under par on the final two holes of the day, including 4 under from Chen and Chacon. Chen capped her best tournament of the fall with a birdie-birdie finish, and Chacon holed out from 86 yards for eagle on her final hole.
Oregon earned its third top-three finish in three fall tournaments, and has now combined to shoot 73-under par with a 32-3 competitive record. UO finished just one stroke back of host Northwestern for second place, with UCLA claiming the team title at 32-under par.
"Another solid week for our team," head coach Derek Radley said. "They continue to do a good job of making adjustments during tournaments and finding ways to finish strong. We have one more tournament this month to close out our fall season so we need to stay focused and continue working on getting better every day."
Chen returned to the lineup after competing as an individual at the Molly Collegiate Invitational, where she tied for 13th overall. Following a 3-under 69 and 2-under 70 in the first two rounds on Monday, Chen fired another 3-under 69 to finish as the top Duck on the leaderboard in a tie for fourth overall at 8 under.
"It's been great to see CCT get back to her old self in these last two tournaments," Radley said. "We've seen how valuable she is to our team when she's playing her game, and her experience and leadership is super important to our lineup. I'm really proud of the way she performed this week."
Chacon's eagle gave her a 2-under 70 to put her in a tie for 11th overall at 6 under, and freshman Kiara Romero continued her phenomenal start to her career in a tie for 14th at 5 under.
How it Happened: The Ducks entered the day in fifth place and remained there at the turn, shooting 4 under on the back nine. UO's scorecard saw 10 total bogeys on the first five holes on the front nine, but just three over the final four holes with seven birdies and Chacon's eagle helping the Ducks leapfrog Texas and Wake Forest and stay ahead of Duke.
Chen was even through 13 holes before getting back under par with a birdie at No. 5. Her back-to-back birdies to close her round gave her a team-high 14 for the week, tied for third-most in the field. Chen finished just one stroke back of second place and three strokes behind individual medalist Lauryn Nguyen (Northwestern).
Chacon got off to a hot start, making a birdie on her third hole of the day and sitting at 1 under through 10 holes. Two bogeys and a birdie put her back at even going into hole No. 9, and she found the bottom of the cup from the fairway for the Ducks' only eagle of the week.
Romero closed her week with a 1-under 71, making her 9-for-9 on par-or-better rounds to open her collegiate career. The freshman made three birdies in four holes right before the turn, and added another birdie at No. 3 to get to 2 under. She bogeyed No. 5, but closed with four straight pars to remain under par and earn her third straight top-15 finish.
Senior Minori Nagano bounced back from a tough second round on Monday to round out Oregon's counting scores with a 2-under 70 on Tuesday. She made two birdies in her final four holes to help fuel the Ducks' strong finish.
Team Standings (top five):
1. UCLA – 272-280-280 – 832 (-32)
2. Northwestern – 279-282-280 – 841 (-23)
3. Oregon – 280-282-280 – 842 (-22)
T4. Duke – 283-281-279 – 843 (-21)
T4. Texas – 282-279-282 – 843 (-21)
T4. Wake Forest – 273-279-281 – 843 (-21)
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T4. Ching-Tzu Chen – 69-70-69 – 208 (-8)
T11. Briana Chacon – 68-72-70 – 210 (-6)
T14. Kiara Romero – 71-69-71 – 211 (-5)
T46. Ashleigh Park – 72-71-74 – 217 (+1)
T53. Minori Nagano – 72-77-70 – 219 (+3)
T59. Anika Varma* - 72-74-74 – 220 (+4)
* Competing as an individual
Notable: Park was named the Pac-12 Golfer of the Week on Tuesday for her win at last week's Molly Collegiate Invitational … She is the second Duck to win the honor already this season; Romero won it after opening her collegiate career with a win at the Annika Intercollegiate.
Up Next: Oregon will wrap its fall season at the Stanford Intercollegiate beginning on Oct. 20.
The Ducks ended the final round with an 8-under 280 to close in third place at 22-under par, just one stroke ahead of Duke, Texas and Wake Forest. Oregon's four counting scorers combined to shoot 5-under par on the final two holes of the day, including 4 under from Chen and Chacon. Chen capped her best tournament of the fall with a birdie-birdie finish, and Chacon holed out from 86 yards for eagle on her final hole.
Oregon earned its third top-three finish in three fall tournaments, and has now combined to shoot 73-under par with a 32-3 competitive record. UO finished just one stroke back of host Northwestern for second place, with UCLA claiming the team title at 32-under par.
"Another solid week for our team," head coach Derek Radley said. "They continue to do a good job of making adjustments during tournaments and finding ways to finish strong. We have one more tournament this month to close out our fall season so we need to stay focused and continue working on getting better every day."
Chen returned to the lineup after competing as an individual at the Molly Collegiate Invitational, where she tied for 13th overall. Following a 3-under 69 and 2-under 70 in the first two rounds on Monday, Chen fired another 3-under 69 to finish as the top Duck on the leaderboard in a tie for fourth overall at 8 under.
"It's been great to see CCT get back to her old self in these last two tournaments," Radley said. "We've seen how valuable she is to our team when she's playing her game, and her experience and leadership is super important to our lineup. I'm really proud of the way she performed this week."
Chacon's eagle gave her a 2-under 70 to put her in a tie for 11th overall at 6 under, and freshman Kiara Romero continued her phenomenal start to her career in a tie for 14th at 5 under.
How it Happened: The Ducks entered the day in fifth place and remained there at the turn, shooting 4 under on the back nine. UO's scorecard saw 10 total bogeys on the first five holes on the front nine, but just three over the final four holes with seven birdies and Chacon's eagle helping the Ducks leapfrog Texas and Wake Forest and stay ahead of Duke.
Chen was even through 13 holes before getting back under par with a birdie at No. 5. Her back-to-back birdies to close her round gave her a team-high 14 for the week, tied for third-most in the field. Chen finished just one stroke back of second place and three strokes behind individual medalist Lauryn Nguyen (Northwestern).
Chacon got off to a hot start, making a birdie on her third hole of the day and sitting at 1 under through 10 holes. Two bogeys and a birdie put her back at even going into hole No. 9, and she found the bottom of the cup from the fairway for the Ducks' only eagle of the week.
Romero closed her week with a 1-under 71, making her 9-for-9 on par-or-better rounds to open her collegiate career. The freshman made three birdies in four holes right before the turn, and added another birdie at No. 3 to get to 2 under. She bogeyed No. 5, but closed with four straight pars to remain under par and earn her third straight top-15 finish.
Senior Minori Nagano bounced back from a tough second round on Monday to round out Oregon's counting scores with a 2-under 70 on Tuesday. She made two birdies in her final four holes to help fuel the Ducks' strong finish.
Team Standings (top five):
1. UCLA – 272-280-280 – 832 (-32)
2. Northwestern – 279-282-280 – 841 (-23)
3. Oregon – 280-282-280 – 842 (-22)
T4. Duke – 283-281-279 – 843 (-21)
T4. Texas – 282-279-282 – 843 (-21)
T4. Wake Forest – 273-279-281 – 843 (-21)
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T4. Ching-Tzu Chen – 69-70-69 – 208 (-8)
T11. Briana Chacon – 68-72-70 – 210 (-6)
T14. Kiara Romero – 71-69-71 – 211 (-5)
T46. Ashleigh Park – 72-71-74 – 217 (+1)
T53. Minori Nagano – 72-77-70 – 219 (+3)
T59. Anika Varma* - 72-74-74 – 220 (+4)
* Competing as an individual
Notable: Park was named the Pac-12 Golfer of the Week on Tuesday for her win at last week's Molly Collegiate Invitational … She is the second Duck to win the honor already this season; Romero won it after opening her collegiate career with a win at the Annika Intercollegiate.
Up Next: Oregon will wrap its fall season at the Stanford Intercollegiate beginning on Oct. 20.
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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