UO Men?s Golf Heads to Pac-10 Championships
EUGENE, Ore. ? The Oregon men’s golf team heads to the Pac-10 Championships Monday through Wednesday at Walla Walla, Wash., looking for a strong finish that would lock up a bid to the NCAA Regional tournament.
"You can never be certain, but if we finish fifth or sixth with the way we’ve played this spring, I don’t see any way the committee can leave us out," said head coach Steve Nosler. "We’ve got to keep playing just like we have been so we can finish ahead of some schools."
The tournament varies from the usual college format with six golfers from each school competing, instead of five. The worst score of each round is thrown out, giving teams five counting scores.
The tournament opens with two rounds Monday at the par-71, 6,606-yard Walla Walla Country Club, followed by single rounds on Tuesday and Wednesday. Live scoring will be available at www.golfstat.com.
Oregon will send the same five golfers who have produced four straight top-seven finishes, including a win at last month’s Western Intercollegiate, plus Kyle Johnson. Sophomore Matt Ma, from Aiea, Hawaii, has emerged as the Ducks’ leader this season. He has a 72.9 scoring average and has five top-11 finishes in seven tournaments, including four straight.
Junior Gregg LaVoie, from nearby Pasco, Wash., anchors the No. 2 spot with a 73.5 scoring average. He’s got a pair of top-12 finishes this spring. Junior Justin St. Clair leads a trio of former Midwestern League golfers competing for Oregon at Walla Walla. The Thurston High grad ranks third on the team with a 74.7 stroke average and tied for 14th at the 2004 Pac-10 championships.
Sophomore Jay Snyder has evolved from a walk-on role to the varsity lineup and is fourth on the squad with a 74.8 scoring average. Junior Chris Dukeminier holds 75.4 scoring average and is another former Midwestern Leaguer (Sheldon) as is Johnson (North Bend), a junior who will be competing for just the third time this season. It will be the first Pac-10 tournament for Snyder and Dukeminier.
"The guys are playing with confidence, which is good, but by no means are they complacent about what they’ve accomplished so far," said Nosler. "But I think we’re going into the tournament with a pretty good feeling."
No. 14 USC is the highest-ranked team in the field. No. 16 UCLA, No. 17 Arizona State and No. 24 Arizona, the defending champs, are also in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin top 25. The Ducks are battling the remainder of the Pac-10 field for bids to the NCAA West Regional, which will be played May 19-21 at Stanford.
The Ducks finished seventh at the 2004 championships in Tucson. Ariz.
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