NCAA Championships Begin Friday For Men's Golf

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The Oregon men's golf team will begin play at the 2023 NCAA Championships on Friday at Grayhawk Golf Club. The No. 19 Ducks are making their second consecutive appearance at Grayhawk to contend for the national title. It is the program's 32nd all-time NCAA Championships appearance, and 11th in 17 years under head coach Casey Martin.

Oregon is one of 30 teams in the field and will tee off in the afternoon wave of the opening round on Friday. The tournament begins with one round of stroke play each on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, after which the field will be cut from 30 teams to the top 15. The individual national champion will be crowned following the final round of stroke play on Monday, and the top eight teams will advance to match play. The match play quarterfinals and semifinals will be held on Tuesday, with the national championship match set for Wednesday, May 31.

2023 NCAA Men's Golf Championships
Dates: Friday, May 26 - Wednesday, May 31
Location: Scottsdale, Ariz.
Course: Grayhawk Golf Club
Par/Yards: 70/7,289

How To Follow
Live scoring for the NCAA Championships will be available at Golfstat.com. Live updates will be provided throughout the tournament on Twitter at @OregonMGolf. Golf Channel will broadcast live from the final round of stroke play on Monday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. PT, and will cover both days of match play. Live coverage will run from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and then 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, and from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday for the championship match.

Live Scoring: https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=26002

The Field
No. 19 Oregon is one of 21 top-25 teams in the 30-team field. Each of the top 12 teams in the latest Golfstat rankings advanced to the NCAA Championships, including 14 of the top 15 and 18 of the top 20.

#1 Vanderbilt, #2 North Carolina, #3 Illinois, #4 Arizona State, #5 Texas Tech, #6 Stanford, #7 Florida State, #8 Pepperdine, #9 Florida, #10 Oklahoma, #11 Georgia Tech, #12 Auburn, #14 Texas A&M, #15 Alabama, #16 Virginia, #17 Texas, #18 Mississippi State, #19 Oregon, #22 Colorado State, #23 Ohio State, #25 Georgia, Arkansas, Baylor, Duke, East Tennessee State, Brigham Young, San Francisco, Chattanooga, New Mexico, Colorado

Teeing Off For The Ducks (Scoring Avg.)
1. Owen Avrit (69.97)
2. Nate Stember (71.13)
3. Greg Solhaug (71.56)
4. Greyson Leach (71.67)
5. Aiden Krafft (72.37)
Alt. Gabriel Hari (73.47)

Ducks Finish Third At NCAA Bath Regional
Oregon booked its ticket to the NCAA Championships with a third-place finish at the NCAA Bath Regional in Michigan. The Ducks surged into qualifying position with a stellar 10-under 274 in the second round, and then used a strong finish to the final round to hold on and place in the top five. After seeing its cushion shrink to one shot midway through the back nine of the third round, the Ducks ripped off seven birdies and an eagle in the final five holes to distance themselves from the cut line. The momentum shifted at the par-5 14th hole, where Greg Solhaug drained an eagle and the trio of Owen Avrit, Nate Stember and Greyson Leach all came through with a birdie. Avrit was the top Duck on the leaderboard in a tie for fifth overall at 6-under par, and Solhaugh (T11th, -4), Stember (17th, -3) and Leach (T20th, -1) all joined him in the top 20. Leach came up huge in the final two rounds, posting a 3-under 68 and a 2-under 69 after opening with a 4-over 75.

NCAA Championships History
The Ducks return to Grayhawk Golf Club for the NCAA Championships after finishing 15th overall at the 2022 tournament. Oregon made the cut to the final round of stroke play, but fell short of advancing to match play. The Ducks return the quartet of Owen Avrit, Nate Stember, Greg Solhaug and Greyson Leach from the squad, bringing some experience back to Grayhawk. Oregon's 2022 appearance was its first at the NCAA Championships since 2018, the final of four straight NCAA Championships berths for the Ducks. UO made history on its home turf at Eugene Country Club in 2016, finishing sixth in stroke play before going on to defeat LSU, Illinois and Texas in match play to claim the first national title in program history. Aaron Wise also became the first Duck ever to win an NCAA individual title. The Ducks nearly repeated as national champions in 2017, tying for fifth in stroke play and taking down both Oklahoma State and Vanderbilt in match play before falling to Oklahoma in the national title match. Oregon's runner-up finish in 2017 was its fourth appearance in match play; the Ducks reached the national semifinals in both 2010 and 2012.

Five Ducks Earn All-Pac-12 Honors
Oregon's entire five-player lineup heading to Grayhawk was honored last month by the Pac-12 Conference. Owen Avrit was rewarded for his terrific season with an all-Pac-12 first-team selection, and Nate Stember landed on the second team. Both Greg Solhaug and Greyson Leach received honorable mention recognition, and Aiden Krafft was named Pac-12 all-freshman honorable mention. Avrit became the first Duck to be named all-Pac-12 first team since Norman Xiong in 2018.

Avrit Leads Ducks to Scottsdale
Senior Owen Avrit has been as steady as they come for the Ducks this season, leading the way with a stellar 69.97 scoring average. Oregon has counted all 33 of Avrit's rounds to the team score this season, and he claimed individual wins at both the Bandon Dunes Championships and the Cal Poly Invitational. He owns eight top-eight finishes in 11 tournaments, also finishing as the runner-up at the Western Intercollegiate, tying for fifth at the NCAA Bath Regional, the Duck Invitational and the Southwestern Invitational, and tying for eighth at both the Husky Invitational and the Maui Jim Invitational. The all-Pac-12 first-team selection has shot par-or-better 17 times in 45 rounds with 10 sub-70 performances, headlined by a 7-under 63 in the first round of the season at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate. Avrit has six rounds in the 60s in his last 10, and he opened the NCAA Bath Regional with a 5-under 66 and 3-under 68 before postsing a 2-over 73 in the final round.