Tuesday, March 28
Eugene, OR
All Day
University of Oregon
vs
Duck Invitational
Photo by: Rob Moseley/GoDucks.com
Oregon Rolls to Duck Invite Title
03/28/23 | Men's Golf
EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon maintained the lead it has established over the first two rounds to win the 33rd Duck Invitational by seven strokes Tuesday afternoon at Eugene Country Club. The Ducks held a seven-shot edge entering the final round and kept the rest of the field at bay by closing with a 1-under 284.
The Ducks won the tournament with a score of 2-under 850. Oregon State was second at 857, followed by No. 23 Colorado State (869). It was the program's second straight win after claiming the Bandon Dunes Championship last week. It was also Oregon's first outright win of the Duck Invitational since 2017.
While the team race didn't get close, the individual medalist competition came down to the last hole with Oregon's Nate Stember and Oregon State's Mateo Fuenmayor ultimately sharing the top prize.
How It Happened: In the medalist race, UTEP's Max Schliessing held a one shot lead at 3-under lead entering the final round and he held that lead until late in the round on Tuesday. He got to 5-under after a birdie on No. 6, but then bogeyed two of his final six holes to open the door for Stember and Fuenmayor, who happened to be paired together for the entire tournament.
Stember began the day in second place at 2-under, while Fuenmayor was a shot behind at 1-under. Fuenmayor pulled even with a birdie on No. 3, and then moved a shot up with a birdie on No. 6. Stember, meanwhile, parred pared his first eight holes before the fireworks began.
Both golfers birdied No. 10, and Stember moved to the lead with back to back birdies on No. 12 and No. 13. Fuenmayor's bogey on No. 14 gave Stember a two-shot cushion before Fuenmayor rallied with three straight birdies immediately after that for a one-stroke edge.
Stember answered with a birdie of his own on No. 17 to square the match and the two Oregon natives parred their final two holes to share medalist honors at 6-under 207. It was the first career win for Stember, a senior from Portland, who almost didn't play after nearly breaking his hand prior to the tournament. Stember's final round 67 was a season best, and one off his career low round of 66.
"We weren't sure if Nate was going to be able to go – he didn't pick up a club, didn't practice all week," said head coach Casey Martin, "But credit to him, he decided to tough it out and then he wins tournament. I couldn't be happier for him."
In addition to Stember, two other Ducks finished in the top 10 and all five on the team finished in the top 20.
After an opening round 74, Owen Avrit finished with rounds of 70-70 to tie for fifth at 1-over 214 with teammate Greyson Leach, who closed with a 72 in Tuesday. It was Avrit's seventh top-eight finish in eight tournaments this season.
The Ducks also saw Greg Solhaug tie for 12th at 218 and Aiden Krafft tie for 18th at 220.
There were also a number of individuals in the field for the Ducks, led by Eric Doyle who tied Krafft for 18th at 220. Freshmen Gabriel Hari and Daniel Bullen tied for 33rd at 224.
Notable: This was the 11th time the Ducks have won their own tournament … Oregon and Liberty shared the 2018 title after the Ducks won outright in 2017 … All 20 of Avrit's rounds have counted toward the team score this season … Stember is the first Duck to medal at the Duck Invitational since Ryan Gronlund in 2019 … Stember established a new career best three-round tournament score, 207, by three strokes … Leach matched his best finish of the season with a tie for fifth … Freshman Jay Gould-Healy matched his season low with a 71 in the final round … After stopping play due to weather and darkness Monday night, teams completed their second rounds Tuesday morning prior to the third round.
Quotable
Head Coach Casey Martin
"Really proud of the effort today. It can be tough playing on your own course with all the expectations and the greens are a little faster than what you're used to, but our guys handled everything well the entire week and I think that showed in the result, which obviously, I'm very pleased with."
Ducks On The Leaderboard
Final Round
Eugene Country Club (Par 71, 6,995 Yards)
1. Oregon – 287-280-283-850 (-2)
T1. Nate Stember – 71-69-67-207 (-6)
T5. Owen Avrit – 74-70-70-214 (+1)
T5. Greyson Leach – 71-71-72-214 (+1)
T12. Greg Solhaug – 71-73-74-218 (+5)
T18. Aiden Krafft – 75-70-75-220 (+7)
Oregon Individuals
T18. Eric Doyle – 72-74-74-220 (+7)
T33. Daniel Bullen – 75-72-77-224 (+11)
T33. Gabriel Hari – 75-71-78-224 (+11)
T50. Jay Gould-Healy – 80-77-71-228 (+15)
T50. Thomas Jenkins Jr. – 75-80-73-228 (+15)
T72. Will Stribling – 75-83-77-235 (+22)
82. Zikahn Zhan – 81-86-80-247 (34)
WD. Gian Luca Martinez – 83-WD-WD
Up Next: Oregon will play at the Goodwin Thursday through Saturday in San Francisco.
- www.GoDucks.com
The Ducks won the tournament with a score of 2-under 850. Oregon State was second at 857, followed by No. 23 Colorado State (869). It was the program's second straight win after claiming the Bandon Dunes Championship last week. It was also Oregon's first outright win of the Duck Invitational since 2017.
While the team race didn't get close, the individual medalist competition came down to the last hole with Oregon's Nate Stember and Oregon State's Mateo Fuenmayor ultimately sharing the top prize.
How It Happened: In the medalist race, UTEP's Max Schliessing held a one shot lead at 3-under lead entering the final round and he held that lead until late in the round on Tuesday. He got to 5-under after a birdie on No. 6, but then bogeyed two of his final six holes to open the door for Stember and Fuenmayor, who happened to be paired together for the entire tournament.
Stember began the day in second place at 2-under, while Fuenmayor was a shot behind at 1-under. Fuenmayor pulled even with a birdie on No. 3, and then moved a shot up with a birdie on No. 6. Stember, meanwhile, parred pared his first eight holes before the fireworks began.
Both golfers birdied No. 10, and Stember moved to the lead with back to back birdies on No. 12 and No. 13. Fuenmayor's bogey on No. 14 gave Stember a two-shot cushion before Fuenmayor rallied with three straight birdies immediately after that for a one-stroke edge.
Stember answered with a birdie of his own on No. 17 to square the match and the two Oregon natives parred their final two holes to share medalist honors at 6-under 207. It was the first career win for Stember, a senior from Portland, who almost didn't play after nearly breaking his hand prior to the tournament. Stember's final round 67 was a season best, and one off his career low round of 66.
"We weren't sure if Nate was going to be able to go – he didn't pick up a club, didn't practice all week," said head coach Casey Martin, "But credit to him, he decided to tough it out and then he wins tournament. I couldn't be happier for him."
In addition to Stember, two other Ducks finished in the top 10 and all five on the team finished in the top 20.
After an opening round 74, Owen Avrit finished with rounds of 70-70 to tie for fifth at 1-over 214 with teammate Greyson Leach, who closed with a 72 in Tuesday. It was Avrit's seventh top-eight finish in eight tournaments this season.
The Ducks also saw Greg Solhaug tie for 12th at 218 and Aiden Krafft tie for 18th at 220.
There were also a number of individuals in the field for the Ducks, led by Eric Doyle who tied Krafft for 18th at 220. Freshmen Gabriel Hari and Daniel Bullen tied for 33rd at 224.
Notable: This was the 11th time the Ducks have won their own tournament … Oregon and Liberty shared the 2018 title after the Ducks won outright in 2017 … All 20 of Avrit's rounds have counted toward the team score this season … Stember is the first Duck to medal at the Duck Invitational since Ryan Gronlund in 2019 … Stember established a new career best three-round tournament score, 207, by three strokes … Leach matched his best finish of the season with a tie for fifth … Freshman Jay Gould-Healy matched his season low with a 71 in the final round … After stopping play due to weather and darkness Monday night, teams completed their second rounds Tuesday morning prior to the third round.
Quotable
Head Coach Casey Martin
"Really proud of the effort today. It can be tough playing on your own course with all the expectations and the greens are a little faster than what you're used to, but our guys handled everything well the entire week and I think that showed in the result, which obviously, I'm very pleased with."
Ducks On The Leaderboard
Final Round
Eugene Country Club (Par 71, 6,995 Yards)
1. Oregon – 287-280-283-850 (-2)
T1. Nate Stember – 71-69-67-207 (-6)
T5. Owen Avrit – 74-70-70-214 (+1)
T5. Greyson Leach – 71-71-72-214 (+1)
T12. Greg Solhaug – 71-73-74-218 (+5)
T18. Aiden Krafft – 75-70-75-220 (+7)
Oregon Individuals
T18. Eric Doyle – 72-74-74-220 (+7)
T33. Daniel Bullen – 75-72-77-224 (+11)
T33. Gabriel Hari – 75-71-78-224 (+11)
T50. Jay Gould-Healy – 80-77-71-228 (+15)
T50. Thomas Jenkins Jr. – 75-80-73-228 (+15)
T72. Will Stribling – 75-83-77-235 (+22)
82. Zikahn Zhan – 81-86-80-247 (34)
WD. Gian Luca Martinez – 83-WD-WD
Up Next: Oregon will play at the Goodwin Thursday through Saturday in San Francisco.
- www.GoDucks.com
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