University of Oregon
Juli Inkster Invitational
Tsuru Claims First Win, Ducks Finish Second
03/04/25 | Women's Golf
FAIRFAX, Calif. - Sophomore Karen Tsuru earned the first individual win of her career on Tuesday as the Oregon women's golf team finished second in the Juli Inkster Invitational at Meadow Club.
After shooting 10-under par across the first two rounds on Monday, Tsuru fired a 3-under 69 in the final round to finish in a three-way tie for first at 13 under with Stanford's Paula Martin Sampedro and USC's Jasmine Koo. She becomes the second Duck in as many tournaments to finish as the individual champion, after freshman Suvichaya Vinijchaitham was the medalist at the Alice & John Wallace Classic.
"I'm really proud of Karen for getting her first collegiate win," head coach Derek Radley said. "There were some tough conditions out here this week with the cold and the wind, so to shoot in the 60s in all three rounds is super impressive. She is playing with so much confidence right now and has really become a force for us in our lineup."
The No. 3 Ducks entered the final round at 16-under par, one stroke back of No. 1 Stanford. Oregon put together a strong round with a 5-under 283, but the Cardinal came in with a 12-under 276 to win by eight shots at 29-under par overall. The Ducks (-21) finished 14 strokes ahead of No. 4 USC and have now placed in the top two in each of their first three spring tournaments.
Oregon improved its competitive record for the season to 72-12-0, and the Ducks are 45-2-0 so far this spring.
"Another really strong tournament for the Ducks," Radley said. "It was fun to battle it out down the stretch against two of the best teams in the country in Stanford and USC. We have a young team, but they have really made a statement this spring that they are one of the elite groups in the nation. We played some really good golf at times this week and also had some moments we can learn from. We're excited to get back home and get back to work for the next opportunity."
How it Happened: Oregon's 5-under 283 in the final round continued its assault on the record book, as the Ducks posted the sixth-best 54-hole team score in program history with a 21-under 843. UO has now recorded three of the eight best 54-hole scores in program history this season, as well as five of the seven lowest single rounds.
Tsuru entered the final round as the co-leader at 10-under par, and she got her day off to a steady start with six straight pars. She caught fire with three consecutive birdies to close the front nine to take over the solo lead, and added a fourth birdie in five holes at No. 11. After a bogey at No. 13 brought her back to 3 under, the sophomore closed out with five pars in a row to finish tied for the individual title.
Tsuru's win is the 42nd individual victory in program history, and ninth since Radley took over as head coach in 2018-19. She is now the third current Duck with at least one career win, joining Vinijchaitham (one) and Kiara Romero (two).
After recording just one sub-70 performance in her first 26 career rounds, Tsuru has now shot in the 60s in each of her last six rounds. Her 13-under 203 for the week is tied for the second-lowest 54-hole score vs. par ever by a Duck, and is tied for the third-lowest total score in a 54-hole tournament.
Romero matched Tsuru with a 3-under 69 in the final round, moving up into sixth place for her fifth top-10 finish in seven tournaments this season. She was 3 under through six holes before making back-to-back bogeys, but she bounced back with two birdies in her next three holes and then was even the rest of the way.
Romero now owns seven sub-70 showings in her last eight rounds and leads the Ducks with nine total rounds in the 60s this season.
Sophomore Ting-Hsuan Huang shot par-or-better for the second round in a row with an even-par 72, and Vinijchaitham rounded out the counting scores with a 1-over 73. Vinijchaitham posted her fifth top-10 finish of the season in a tie for 10th at even par.
Team Leaderboard (top five):
1. #1 Stanford -- 282-277-276 -- 835 (-29)
2. #3 Oregon -- 271-289-283 -- 843 (-21)
3. #4 USC -- 284-283-290 -- 857 (-7)
4. Sacramento State -- 292-285-290 -- 867 (+3)
5. Denver -- 293-293-287 -- 873 (+9)
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T1. Karen Tsuru -- 66-68-69 -- 203 (-13)
6. Kiara Romero -- 68-74-69 -- 211 (-5)
T10. Suvichaya Vinijchaitham -- 67-76-73 -- 216 (E)
T20. Ting-Hsuan Huang -- 77-71-72 -- 220 (+4)
T54. Tong An -- 70-78-79 -- 227 (+11)
Notable: Oregon ranked third among all teams in birdies (53) and tied for the lead in eagles (3) ... Tsuru was the top player in the field on par-4s at 6-under par, and she ranked second on par-3s at 3-under par ... Tsuru tied for the individual lead with 17 total birdies for the week.
Up Next: Oregon will return to action at the Charles Schwab Women's Collegiate Invitational on March 24-26 in Forth Worth, Texas.
Players Mentioned
