Ducks In Fourth Entering Final Round

Tuesday, April 18

Phoenix, AZ

All Day

University of Oregon

Pac-12 Championships

04/18/23 | Women's Golf

By: Nate Krueger

PHOENIX — The Oregon women's golf team will enter the final round of the 2023 Pac-12 Championships in fourth place and six strokes back of the lead after carding a 2-under 286 in Tuesday's second round at Papago Golf Course.

The No. 9 Ducks tied for the second-best score of the day, and were one of just four teams on the day to shoot under par. No. 14 USC and Arizona share the lead at 8-under par, with No. 1 Stanford in third at 5-under par. Oregon sits at 2-under par overall, two strokes ahead of host Arizona State for fifth.

Junior Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – the defending individual Pac-12 champion – led Oregon with a 2-under 70, while three other Ducks came in with an even-par 72.

How it Happened: Like in Monday's opening round, the Ducks found more success on the front nine than the back. Oregon teed off from No. 1 and made eight birdies and just four bogeys in its first nine holes, before finishing with four birdies and 12 bogeys on the back nine.

"I thought our team competed well again today, especially on the front nine. Your goal in the first two rounds is to give yourself a shot going into the final day, and we've been able to do that. We're excited about tomorrow and are looking forward to coming out and finishing strong."

Lu was bogey-free on the front nine, draining birdies at No. 2 and No. 5 to make the turn at 2-under par. She added another birdie at No. 12 and was 3 under before a bogey at No. 17, the lone blemish on her scorecard.

Freshman Anika Varma, junior Minori Nagano and senior Briana Chacon all shot even par on the day to round out Oregon's counting scores.

Varma remains the top Duck on the individual leaderboard, in a tie for seventh overall at 2 under following her 2-under 70 in the opening round. She was 2-under par through 16 holes, before ending her round with back-to-back bogeys. The true freshman's solid round is made more impressive by the fact that she was paired with Stanford's Rose Zhang, the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world and reigning NCAA individual champion who currently leads the field at 9-under par.

Chacon was 1 under on the front nine before making a bogey and eight pars on the back, and she is currently tied with Lu for 13th overall at 1 under. Nagano made three straight birdies to get to 3 under through 10 holes, but three bogeys in her final six brought her back to even.

Team Leaderboard:
T1. #14 USC – 279-289 – 568 (-8)
T1. Arizona – 282-286 – 568 (-8)
3. #1 Stanford – 287-284 – 571 (-5)
4. #9 Oregon – 288-286 – 574 (-2)
5. #11 Arizona State – 290-286 – 576 (E)
6. California – 288-293 – 581 (+5)
7. Oregon State – 292-291 – 583 (+7)
8. Washington – 294-291 – 585 (+9)
9. Washington State – 297-293 – 590 (+14)
10. UCLA – 296-298 – 594 (+18)
11. Colorado – 297-298 – 595 (+19)

Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T7. Anika Varma – 70-72 – 142 (-2)
T13. Briana Chacon – 71-72 – 143 (-1)
T13. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – 73-70 – 143 (-1)
T24. Minori Nagano – 74-72 – 146 (+2)
T47. Ching-Tzu Chen – 75-78 – 153 (+9)

Notable: Oregon is tied for the most total pars in the field with 127 through two rounds, but is tied for fifth with 23 birdies … Lu and Varma are both 1-under par so far on par-4 holes, and Chacon, Nagano and Varma are all 2 under on par-5s … Chacon and Varma are tied for the team lead through 36 holes with six total birdies.

Up Next: The Ducks will once again be paired with No. 1 Stanford in Wednesday's final round, teeing off starting at 8:20 a.m. from hole No. 1.

Round Three Tee Times
8:20 a.m. Ching-Tzu Chen
8:30 a.m. – Minori Nagano
8:40 a.m. – Briana Chacon
8:50 a.m. – Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu
9:00 a.m. – Anika Varma