Monday, April 17
Phoenix, AZ
All Day
University of Oregon
vs
Pac-12 Championships
Photo by: Zac BonDurant zacbondurant.com All rights reserved
Varma Leads Ducks To Even-Par Opening Round
04/17/23 | Women's Golf
PHOENIX — The Oregon women's golf team is tied for fourth place after opening the 2023 Pac-12 Championships with an even-par 288 on Monday at Papago Golf Course.
Led by a 2-under 70 from freshman Anika Varma and a 1-under 71 from senior Briana Chacon, the No. 9 Ducks notched their seventh par-or-better round of the season and are tied for fourth with California through 18 holes. No. 14 USC leads the field at 9-under par, followed by Arizona at 6 under and No. 1 Stanford at 1 under.
After teeing off from hole No. 10 and making 11 bogeys and four birdies in their first nine holes, the defending champion Ducks bounced back with seven birdies and just three bogeys across the final nine.
"I'm proud of the way our team came out and battled today to kick off the week," head coach Derek Radley said. "We got off to a little bit of a slow start, but we settled in and played some really good golf after we made the turn. We came here with the goal of defending our title from last year, and we're excited to be in the hunt going into round two."
How it Happened: Varma continued her stellar play over the last few weeks with two birdies and seven pars to make the turn at 2 under. The true freshman made par on her first seven holes on the front nine before carding her only bogey of the day at No. 8, but she bounced back with a birdie at No. 9 to come in with a 70.
Varma is tied for fifth overall through the opening round, just three strokes behind individual leader and reigning NCAA individual champion Rose Zhang (Stanford). She has now shot par-or-better in five of her first 10 collegiate rounds.
"Anika has been such a spark for our team late in the season," Radley said. "To come here as a true freshman and shoot 2 under in the opening round is really impressive. She's dialed in right now and I'm excited to see what the rest of the week holds for her."
Chacon got off to a slow start on the back nine, carding bogeys at No. 16 and No. 18 to make the turn at 2 over. But the two-time all-American bounced right back with back-to-back birdies to start the front nine, and she added another at No. 8 to shoot 3 under across her final nine holes and finish with a 1-under 71. It was the eighth par-or-better round of the season for Chacon, who sits in a tie for 10th overall.
Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu made two birdies in three holes after making the turn on her way to a 1-over 73, and Minori Nagano bounced back from three straight bogeys with nine consecutive pars to round out the counting scores with a 2-over 74. Ching-Tzu Chen was right behind with a 3-over 75.
Team Leaderboard:
1. #14 USC – 279 (-9)
2. Arizona – 282 (-6)
3. #1 Stanford – 287 (-1)
T4. #9 Oregon – 288 (E)
T4. California – 288 (E)
6. #11 Arizona State – 290 (+2)
7. Oregon State – 292 (+4)
8. Washington – 294 (+6)
9. UCLA – 296 (+8)
T10. Colorado – 297 (+9)
T10. Washington State – 297 (+9)
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T5. Anika Varma – 70 (-2)
T10. Briana Chacon – 71 (-1)
T24. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – 73 (+1)
T31. Minori Nagano – 74 (+2)
T39. Ching-Tzu Chen – 75 (+3)
Notable: Oregon tied for the best score in the field on par-3 holes at 1 over, and was second to only USC on par-5s at 3 under … The Ducks are tied for second with 65 total pars, and tied for sixth with 11 birdies … Chacon was 1 under on par-3s, tied for second-best in the field … Chacon led the Ducks with four birdies, tied sixth among all players … Oregon's even-par 288 was better than any of its three rounds at Papago Golf Course earlier this spring at the PING/ASU Invitational.
Up Next: The Ducks will be paired with No. 1 Stanford in Tuesday's second round, teeing off from No. 1 beginning at 8:50 a.m.
Round Two Tee Times
8:50 a.m. – Ching-Tzu Chen
9:00 a.m. – Minori Nagano
9:10 a.m. – Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu
9:20 a.m. – Briana Chacon
9:30 a.m. – Anika Varma
Led by a 2-under 70 from freshman Anika Varma and a 1-under 71 from senior Briana Chacon, the No. 9 Ducks notched their seventh par-or-better round of the season and are tied for fourth with California through 18 holes. No. 14 USC leads the field at 9-under par, followed by Arizona at 6 under and No. 1 Stanford at 1 under.
After teeing off from hole No. 10 and making 11 bogeys and four birdies in their first nine holes, the defending champion Ducks bounced back with seven birdies and just three bogeys across the final nine.
"I'm proud of the way our team came out and battled today to kick off the week," head coach Derek Radley said. "We got off to a little bit of a slow start, but we settled in and played some really good golf after we made the turn. We came here with the goal of defending our title from last year, and we're excited to be in the hunt going into round two."
How it Happened: Varma continued her stellar play over the last few weeks with two birdies and seven pars to make the turn at 2 under. The true freshman made par on her first seven holes on the front nine before carding her only bogey of the day at No. 8, but she bounced back with a birdie at No. 9 to come in with a 70.
Varma is tied for fifth overall through the opening round, just three strokes behind individual leader and reigning NCAA individual champion Rose Zhang (Stanford). She has now shot par-or-better in five of her first 10 collegiate rounds.
"Anika has been such a spark for our team late in the season," Radley said. "To come here as a true freshman and shoot 2 under in the opening round is really impressive. She's dialed in right now and I'm excited to see what the rest of the week holds for her."
Chacon got off to a slow start on the back nine, carding bogeys at No. 16 and No. 18 to make the turn at 2 over. But the two-time all-American bounced right back with back-to-back birdies to start the front nine, and she added another at No. 8 to shoot 3 under across her final nine holes and finish with a 1-under 71. It was the eighth par-or-better round of the season for Chacon, who sits in a tie for 10th overall.
Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu made two birdies in three holes after making the turn on her way to a 1-over 73, and Minori Nagano bounced back from three straight bogeys with nine consecutive pars to round out the counting scores with a 2-over 74. Ching-Tzu Chen was right behind with a 3-over 75.
Team Leaderboard:
1. #14 USC – 279 (-9)
2. Arizona – 282 (-6)
3. #1 Stanford – 287 (-1)
T4. #9 Oregon – 288 (E)
T4. California – 288 (E)
6. #11 Arizona State – 290 (+2)
7. Oregon State – 292 (+4)
8. Washington – 294 (+6)
9. UCLA – 296 (+8)
T10. Colorado – 297 (+9)
T10. Washington State – 297 (+9)
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T5. Anika Varma – 70 (-2)
T10. Briana Chacon – 71 (-1)
T24. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – 73 (+1)
T31. Minori Nagano – 74 (+2)
T39. Ching-Tzu Chen – 75 (+3)
Notable: Oregon tied for the best score in the field on par-3 holes at 1 over, and was second to only USC on par-5s at 3 under … The Ducks are tied for second with 65 total pars, and tied for sixth with 11 birdies … Chacon was 1 under on par-3s, tied for second-best in the field … Chacon led the Ducks with four birdies, tied sixth among all players … Oregon's even-par 288 was better than any of its three rounds at Papago Golf Course earlier this spring at the PING/ASU Invitational.
Up Next: The Ducks will be paired with No. 1 Stanford in Tuesday's second round, teeing off from No. 1 beginning at 8:50 a.m.
Round Two Tee Times
8:50 a.m. – Ching-Tzu Chen
9:00 a.m. – Minori Nagano
9:10 a.m. – Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu
9:20 a.m. – Briana Chacon
9:30 a.m. – Anika Varma
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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