Friday, March 24
Phoenix, AZ
All Day
University of Oregon
vs
PING/ASU Invitational
Chacon, Chen Lead Ducks On Day One
03/24/23 | Women's Golf
PHOENIX — Seniors Briana Chacon and Ching-Tzu Chen each fired a 1-under 71 to lead the Oregon women's golf team in the opening round of the PING/ASU Invitational on Friday at Papago Golf Course.
The No. 5 Ducks finished the day with a 2-over 290 and sit in a three-way tie for second place in the 17-team field after 18 holes. No. 23 Northwestern currently holds an eight-stroke lead after shooting 6-under par.
Oregon is in good position as it aims to continue its recent run of success at the PING/ASU Invitational. The Ducks were the co-champions in 2021 before finishing as the runners-up in 2022.
How it Happened: Chacon was steady throughout the day for the Ducks, making three birdies and just two bogeys to finish at par-or-better for the sixth time this season. The two-time all-American was 1 under at the turn and made a birdie at No. 15 to get to 2 under, before carding a bogey at No. 17.
Chen got off to a tremendous start, making a birdie at No. 2 and adding back-to-back birdies at No. 8 and No. 9 to get to 3-under par at the turn. Chen made it three straight birdies with another at No. 10, but finished her round with five pars and three bogeys. The Taiwan native matched Chacon with her sixth par-or-better round of the season.
Chacon and Chen are tied for eighth on the individual leaderboard after day one. Mississippi State's Julia Lopez Ramirez leads the field at 5-under par.
Freshman Anika Varma posted a solid score in just her fourth collegiate round, coming in with a 1-over 73. Varma was 1-under par through 17 holes before ending her round with a double bogey. Senior Brittany Shin rounded out Oregon's counting scores with a 3-over 75.
Junior Minori Nagano, competing this weekend as an individual, matched Varma with a 1-over 73. Nagano started her day on the back nine and was even at the turn before shooting 1 over on the front.
Team Leaderboard:
1. #23 Northwestern – 282 (-6)
T2. #5 Oregon – 290 (+2)
T2. #6 Mississippi State – 290 (+2)
T2. #14 Baylor – 290 (+2)
5. #8 Texas – 294 (+6)
T6. #11 Arizona State – 295 (+7)
T6. California – 296 (+7)
T6. Colorado – 296 (+7)
T6. Oregon State – 296 (+7)
T6. Washington State – 296 (+7)
T11. #13 USC – 301 (+13)
T11. Michigan State – 301 (+13)
T13. Kansas – 302 (+14)
T13. Washington – 302 (+14)
15. Michigan – 303 (+15)
16. #15 Arizona – 308 (+20)
17. New Mexico – 309 (+21)
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T8. Briana Chacon – 71 (-1)
T8. Ching-Tzu Chen – 71 (-1)
T22. Anika Varma – 73 (+1)
T22. Minori Nagano* – 73 (+1)
T39. Brittany Shin – 75 (+3)
T60. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – 78 (+6)
*Competing as an individual
Notable: Oregon shot 1-over par on par-3 holes, the second-best score of the day … Chen was 1 under on par-3s, tied for second-best in the field … Varma led the team with 14 pars, tied for fourth-most in the field … Chen has now counted towards Oregon's team score in 13 of 17 rounds this season, second-most on the team.
Up Next: The Ducks will be paired with Northwestern and Baylor in Saturday's second round, teeing off from hole No. 1 beginning at 9:30 a.m. PT. Nagano will start her day on the back nine at 9:12 a.m.
Round 2 Tee Times:
9:12 a.m. – Minori Nagano*
9:30 a.m. – Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu
9:39 a.m. – Brittany Shin
9:48 a.m. – Anika Varma
9:57 a.m. – Ching-Tzu Chen
10:06 a.m. – Briana Chacon
*Competing as an individual
The No. 5 Ducks finished the day with a 2-over 290 and sit in a three-way tie for second place in the 17-team field after 18 holes. No. 23 Northwestern currently holds an eight-stroke lead after shooting 6-under par.
Oregon is in good position as it aims to continue its recent run of success at the PING/ASU Invitational. The Ducks were the co-champions in 2021 before finishing as the runners-up in 2022.
How it Happened: Chacon was steady throughout the day for the Ducks, making three birdies and just two bogeys to finish at par-or-better for the sixth time this season. The two-time all-American was 1 under at the turn and made a birdie at No. 15 to get to 2 under, before carding a bogey at No. 17.
Chen got off to a tremendous start, making a birdie at No. 2 and adding back-to-back birdies at No. 8 and No. 9 to get to 3-under par at the turn. Chen made it three straight birdies with another at No. 10, but finished her round with five pars and three bogeys. The Taiwan native matched Chacon with her sixth par-or-better round of the season.
Chacon and Chen are tied for eighth on the individual leaderboard after day one. Mississippi State's Julia Lopez Ramirez leads the field at 5-under par.
Freshman Anika Varma posted a solid score in just her fourth collegiate round, coming in with a 1-over 73. Varma was 1-under par through 17 holes before ending her round with a double bogey. Senior Brittany Shin rounded out Oregon's counting scores with a 3-over 75.
Junior Minori Nagano, competing this weekend as an individual, matched Varma with a 1-over 73. Nagano started her day on the back nine and was even at the turn before shooting 1 over on the front.
Team Leaderboard:
1. #23 Northwestern – 282 (-6)
T2. #5 Oregon – 290 (+2)
T2. #6 Mississippi State – 290 (+2)
T2. #14 Baylor – 290 (+2)
5. #8 Texas – 294 (+6)
T6. #11 Arizona State – 295 (+7)
T6. California – 296 (+7)
T6. Colorado – 296 (+7)
T6. Oregon State – 296 (+7)
T6. Washington State – 296 (+7)
T11. #13 USC – 301 (+13)
T11. Michigan State – 301 (+13)
T13. Kansas – 302 (+14)
T13. Washington – 302 (+14)
15. Michigan – 303 (+15)
16. #15 Arizona – 308 (+20)
17. New Mexico – 309 (+21)
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T8. Briana Chacon – 71 (-1)
T8. Ching-Tzu Chen – 71 (-1)
T22. Anika Varma – 73 (+1)
T22. Minori Nagano* – 73 (+1)
T39. Brittany Shin – 75 (+3)
T60. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – 78 (+6)
*Competing as an individual
Notable: Oregon shot 1-over par on par-3 holes, the second-best score of the day … Chen was 1 under on par-3s, tied for second-best in the field … Varma led the team with 14 pars, tied for fourth-most in the field … Chen has now counted towards Oregon's team score in 13 of 17 rounds this season, second-most on the team.
Up Next: The Ducks will be paired with Northwestern and Baylor in Saturday's second round, teeing off from hole No. 1 beginning at 9:30 a.m. PT. Nagano will start her day on the back nine at 9:12 a.m.
Round 2 Tee Times:
9:12 a.m. – Minori Nagano*
9:30 a.m. – Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu
9:39 a.m. – Brittany Shin
9:48 a.m. – Anika Varma
9:57 a.m. – Ching-Tzu Chen
10:06 a.m. – Briana Chacon
*Competing as an individual
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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