Tuesday, April 11
Santa Cruz, CA
All Day
University of Oregon
at
Western Intercollegiate
Photo by: Samantha Toy
Avrit Climbs to First Following Bogey-Free 66
04/11/23 | Men's Golf
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – Owen Avrit was the only golfer without a bogey in Tuesday's second round of the Western Intercollegiate as he climbed into a share of the lead with a 4-under 66.
Avrit will enter Wednesday's final round tied for the lead at 9-under with Pepperdine's Sam Choi.
After making nine straight pars on the front nine, Avrit broke into the red numbers with back-to-back birdies on No. 10 and No. 11. He followed that with four straight pars before his most impressive birdie of the day on No. 16. His approach shot on the hole came up short and hung on the ledge of a downward slope leading away from the pin.
The ball clung to the green and Avrit used that break to knock in a long, difficult uphill birdie putt that broke to his left. He followed his birdie on 16 with another on No. 17 to get to 4-under on the day.
"It was tough out there," said Avrit about the conditions at the par-70, 6,514-yard Pasatiempo Golf Club. "The wind really picking up starting on hole nine and it flipped directions from the morning so I think it made every hole on the back nine tougher.
"It was pretty cool to stay steady and make a couple of putts coming down the stretch," he said.
Avrit had a look at a short birdie putt that would have given him the outright lead on No. 18, but settled for a par and a bogey-free 66.
In the team competition, No. 22 Oregon remained in second place with a 2-over 352 that left the Ducks at 13-under 687 for the tournament.
No. 9 Pepperdine had one of the most phenomenal rounds of the season to rocket into the lead. The Waves had a 22-under 345 and led the tournament at 27-under. BYU was five strokes behind the Ducks at 8-under, followed by California (4-under) and No. 8 Stanford (2-under).
How It Happened: The Ducks got strong performances from Eric Doyle and Nate Stember to back Avrit. Doyle bounced back from an opening round 78 Monday to turn in a 2-under 68 Tuesday. After two bogeys on the front nine, Doyle had four birdies on the back nine.
Stember shot his second straight 69 with three birdies and two bogeys. Overall he was tied for 13th at 2-under.
Greg Solhaug was tied for 18th at 1-under following a 75 on Tuesday.
"The guys are a competitive bunch," said coach Casey Martin. "We had a great final nine. We're going to need a great one tomorrow to have any chance to catch Pepperdine, but you never know."
Quotable
Senior Owen Avrit
"It will be fun tomorrow to go and try and win this tournament – just try and stay present and enjoy myself out there."
Notable: Avrit birdied both the 10th and 11th holes in spite of the fact that those were the No. 2 and No. 3 most-difficult holes on Tuesday. He also birdied the sixth-toughest hole on Tuesday, No. 16 … Oregon has counted all 25 of Avrit's rounds this season … The Western Intercollegiate is a play six, count five format like the Ducks will see at the Pac-12 Championships at the end of the month.
Ducks On The Leaderboard
Second Round
Pasatiempo Golf Club (Par 70, 6,514 Yards)
2. Oregon – 335-352-687 (-13)
T1. Owen Avrit – 65-66-131 (-9)
T13. Nate Stember – 69-69-138 (-2)
T18. Greg Solhaug – 64-75-139 (-1)
T42. Aiden Krafft – 69-74-143 (+3)
T42. Greyson Leach – 68-75-143 (+3)
T61. Eric Doyle – 78-68-146 (+6)
Up Next: Oregon's final round in the Western Intercollegiate will get underway at 9:09 a.m. Wednesday morning.
- www.GoDucks.com -
Avrit will enter Wednesday's final round tied for the lead at 9-under with Pepperdine's Sam Choi.
After making nine straight pars on the front nine, Avrit broke into the red numbers with back-to-back birdies on No. 10 and No. 11. He followed that with four straight pars before his most impressive birdie of the day on No. 16. His approach shot on the hole came up short and hung on the ledge of a downward slope leading away from the pin.
The ball clung to the green and Avrit used that break to knock in a long, difficult uphill birdie putt that broke to his left. He followed his birdie on 16 with another on No. 17 to get to 4-under on the day.
"It was tough out there," said Avrit about the conditions at the par-70, 6,514-yard Pasatiempo Golf Club. "The wind really picking up starting on hole nine and it flipped directions from the morning so I think it made every hole on the back nine tougher.
"It was pretty cool to stay steady and make a couple of putts coming down the stretch," he said.
Avrit had a look at a short birdie putt that would have given him the outright lead on No. 18, but settled for a par and a bogey-free 66.
In the team competition, No. 22 Oregon remained in second place with a 2-over 352 that left the Ducks at 13-under 687 for the tournament.
No. 9 Pepperdine had one of the most phenomenal rounds of the season to rocket into the lead. The Waves had a 22-under 345 and led the tournament at 27-under. BYU was five strokes behind the Ducks at 8-under, followed by California (4-under) and No. 8 Stanford (2-under).
How It Happened: The Ducks got strong performances from Eric Doyle and Nate Stember to back Avrit. Doyle bounced back from an opening round 78 Monday to turn in a 2-under 68 Tuesday. After two bogeys on the front nine, Doyle had four birdies on the back nine.
Stember shot his second straight 69 with three birdies and two bogeys. Overall he was tied for 13th at 2-under.
Greg Solhaug was tied for 18th at 1-under following a 75 on Tuesday.
"The guys are a competitive bunch," said coach Casey Martin. "We had a great final nine. We're going to need a great one tomorrow to have any chance to catch Pepperdine, but you never know."
Quotable
Senior Owen Avrit
"It will be fun tomorrow to go and try and win this tournament – just try and stay present and enjoy myself out there."
Notable: Avrit birdied both the 10th and 11th holes in spite of the fact that those were the No. 2 and No. 3 most-difficult holes on Tuesday. He also birdied the sixth-toughest hole on Tuesday, No. 16 … Oregon has counted all 25 of Avrit's rounds this season … The Western Intercollegiate is a play six, count five format like the Ducks will see at the Pac-12 Championships at the end of the month.
Ducks On The Leaderboard
Second Round
Pasatiempo Golf Club (Par 70, 6,514 Yards)
2. Oregon – 335-352-687 (-13)
T1. Owen Avrit – 65-66-131 (-9)
T13. Nate Stember – 69-69-138 (-2)
T18. Greg Solhaug – 64-75-139 (-1)
T42. Aiden Krafft – 69-74-143 (+3)
T42. Greyson Leach – 68-75-143 (+3)
T61. Eric Doyle – 78-68-146 (+6)
Up Next: Oregon's final round in the Western Intercollegiate will get underway at 9:09 a.m. Wednesday morning.
- www.GoDucks.com -
Players Mentioned
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