Gould-Healy, Leach Lead Ducks at Big Ten Championships

BALTIMORE – Jay Gould-Healy and Greyson Leach both carded under-par rounds and sit in the top 10 after the opening round of the Big Ten Championships at Baltimore Country Club.

Gould-Healy put together the low round of the day for the Ducks, firing a 3-under 67 thanks to a team-high four birdies against just one bogey. Leach turned in a flawless scorecard, recording two birdies and 16 pars for a 2-under 68. Gould-Healy enters Saturday's second round tied for fourth place, with Leach just behind him in a tie for eighth.

As a team, Oregon finished the opening round with a 1-under 279, good enough for fourth place. UO was one of four teams to shoot in the red on Friday. Illinois leads the field at 10 under, seven strokes ahead of second-place Indiana.

"Today was almost a great day," head coach Casey Martin said. "We let it slip a bit coming in. This is a great old golf course and the final holes are difficult."

How It Happened
Teeing off on No. 10, Gould-Healy carded three pars before notching his first birdie of the day on No. 13. He added another on the 17th hole to make the turn at 2 under. Birdies on No. 1 and No. 3 brought him to 4 under for the day and gave him sole possession atop the leaderboard, but a bogey on No. 7 dropped him back down to 3 under for the day.

Leach carded nine pars for an even front nine before recording his first birdie of the round on No. 1. He added another birdie on No. 4 before wrapping up his round with six more pars.

Eric Doyle and Aiden Krafft rounded out UO's counting scores with a pair of 72s. Doyle started his day out slow and sat at 3 over at the turn thanks to three bogeys. He made birdie on No. 4 and added another on No. 6 gain a couple strokes back before bogeying the 7th hole. Conversely, Krafft came out of the gates firing, carding a 3-under 32 on the front before running into trouble on the back.

Duck Scorecard
Big Ten Championships
Baltimore Country Club – Par 70 (6,969 yards)
4. Oregon – 279 (-1)
T4. Jay Gould-Healy – 67 (-3)
T8. Greyson Leach – 68 (-2)
T41. Eric Doyle – 72 (+2)
T41. Aiden Krafft – 72 (+2)
T72. Ramil Saelim – 74 (+4)

Notable
Oregon's 64 pars in the opening round are the fourth most in the field, while Leach's 16 pars lead all individuals … Gould-Healy ranks second in the field in par-4 scoring average (-4) while the Ducks are tied for first among all 18 teams (-1) … The Ducks' 12 birdies tied for the eighth most in the field.

Next Up
Second round action from Baltimore begins tomorrow at 6 a.m. PT.