Ducks Storm Back To Defend Title At Therese Hession Regional Challenge

Tuesday, February 14

Palos Verdes, CA

All Day

University of Oregon

Therese Hession Regional Challenge

Ducks Storm Back To Defend Title At Therese Hession Regional Challenge

02/14/23 | Women's Golf

Results

By: Nate Krueger

PALOS VERDES, Calif. — The Oregon women's golf team completed an epic comeback to win the 2023 Therese Hession Regional Challenge on Tuesday, firing a stellar 4-under 280 to chase down No. 1 Stanford in the final round at Palos Verdes Golf Club.

The No. 5 Ducks entered the day in a tie for fourth at 10-over par, eight strokes behind the top-ranked Cardinal. Oregon made a whopping 20 birdies as a team to overtake Stanford, which stumbled to a 9-over 293 on the day, and win by a comfortable five strokes.

Oregon was the only team to shoot under par on Tuesday, and its 4-under 280 was the best single round of the tournament. The Ducks repeated as the team champions at what was formerly known as the Northrop Grumman Challenge, after winning by seven strokes in 2022.

It is the seventh tournament win for the Ducks since head coach Derek Radley and assistant Monica Vaughn took over 2018, all coming since the spring of 2021.

"I couldn't be more proud of our team." Radley said. "It was a battle the first two days, but they kept their composure and came out and played absolutely lights out today. Our goal was to come here and defend our title from last year against a truly elite field, and we were able to get the job done. I am so impressed with our team and can't wait to see what's in store next."

Senior Ching-Tzu Chen led the Ducks all week, finishing in a tie for second individually at 3-under par after closing with a 2-under 69 on Tuesday. Chen matched her best career finish and came in behind only Rose Zhang (Stanford), the No. 1 ranked player in the world and reigning NCAA champion.

"CCT is the rock of this team, and that was especially true this week," Radley said. "She was solid all three days and never wavered from her plan. She led this team to victory and I am so proud of her."

How it Happened: The biggest difference of the day came on holes 1-5, where Oregon combined to shoot 1-over par as a team. Stanford struggled to match that production, coming in at 14-over par in that stretch.

Chen closed out her runner-up finish with her second sub-70 round of the week, making four birdies against just two bogeys. Chen was stellar on the back nine of the course, shooting 2 under with back-to-back birdies at No. 16 and No. 17.

While Chen was the top Duck on the leaderboard, junior Ashleigh Park posted Oregon's best round of the day with a 3-under 68. After struggling in round two and not counting towards the team score, Park overcame a bogey on her first hole Tuesday to shoot 4-under par the rest of the way, including 3 under on the back nine.

Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu also enjoyed a nice bounce-back round after getting the spring off to a slow start, coming in with a 1-under 70. The reigning Pac-12 individual champion matched Park for the team lead with five birdies, and was 3 under across her final 10 holes.

Minori Nagano rounded out Tuesday's counting scores with a 2-over 73, after posting an even-par 71 on Monday. Nagano tied for 27th overall, her best finish so far as a Duck.

Senior Briana Chacon did not count towards the team score in the final round with a 3-over 74, but she was the second-highest Duck on the leaderboard behind Chen in a tie for 20th overall.

Team Leaderboard:
1. #5 Oregon – 288-290-280 – 858 (+6)
2. #1 Stanford – 286-284-293 – 863 (+11)
T3. #23 USC – 290-287-287 – 864 (+12)
T3. #18 Baylor – 282-297-285 – 864 (+12)
5. #3 San Jose State – 286-286-296 – 868 (+16)
6. Ohio State – 286-292-293 – 871 (+19)
7. #15 Arizona – 294-291-287 – 872 (+20)
8. #6 Texas – 290-295-289 – 874 (+22)
T9. Pepperdine – 292-299-290 – 881 (+29)
T9. #24 Kentucky – 292-293-296 – 881 (+29)
11. #12 UCLA – 296-292-297 – 885 (+33)
12. Florida – 301-295-298 – 894 (+42)
T13. Illinois – 295-292-308 – 895 (+43)
T13. #21 SMU – 299-304-292 – 895 (+43)
15. Washington – 307-299-297 – 903 (+51)
16. Georgetown – 303-304-302 – 909 (+57)

Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T2. Ching-Tzu Chen – 68-73-69 – 210 (-3)
T20. Briana Chacon – 72-72-74 – 218 (+5)
T27. Minori Nagano – 76-71-73 – 220 (+7)
T31. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – 77-74-70 – 221 (+8)
T37. Ashleigh Park – 72-82-68 – 222 (+9)

What it Means: Oregon came out on top in a field that featured three other top-10 teams and nine in the top 25. The Ducks continued the trend of playing their best golf in the final round of tournaments, the calling card of the team that finished last season as the national runners-up. The comeback win is a stellar start to a loaded spring schedule meant to prepare the Ducks for getting back to that national stage in May.

Notable: Oregon led the field with 47 total birdies after making 20 on Tuesday, and the Ducks were second with 167 pars … Chacon led all individuals with 40 pars … Chen paced the Ducks with 12 total birdies for the week, and Lu was right behind with 11 … UO shot a whopping 13-under par for the week on par-5 holes, second-best in the field.

Up Next: Oregon will return to action at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate on Feb. 27 to March 1 in Hilton Head, S.C. The tournament will be broadcast on Golf Channel.