No. 9 Ducks Set For Bandon Dunes Championships
*Updated season/career stats are available the link above.
THIS WEEK’S OREGON MEN'S GOLF ACTION
Event: Bandon Dunes Championship
Dates: Friday-Sunday, March 16-18, 2012
Location: Bandon Trails Course - Country Club, Bandon, Ore.
Par / Yardage: 71, 6,743 yards
Host: Gonzaga ( www.GoZags.com )
Teams (Current Golfstat rankings): Washington (3), Oregon (9), Oregon State (53), San Jose State (71), Colorado (74), Long Beach State (75), Loyola Marymount (91), Pacific (108), Utah Valley (152), Gonzaga (191), Hartford (199), Weber State (202), Marquette (230), British Columbi, Missouri-Kansas City
Live www.Golfstat.com Results Link: http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/index.cfm?tournament_id=2974
First Tee Times: 8:30 a.m. - Fri.-Sat. (3/16-17), 8:45 a.m. – Sun. (3/18)
TOURNEY OVERVIEW
EUGENE – This weekend, the No. 9-ranked University of Oregon men’s golf team looks ahead to its third of seven spring tournaments, and one of two in the state of Oregon in March. The Bandon Dunes Championship will be staged at the nationally-renowned Bandon Dunes Country Club, Friday-Sunday, March 16-18.
Eight days later, UO hosts its annual Oregon Duck Invitational, Monday-Tuesday, March 26-27 at the Eugene Country Club.
No. 9 UO is one of 15 teams in the field – two of which are ranked top 10 nationally this week. Likewise in the Golfstat individual rankings, Duck senior Eugene Wong (first, 69.00) is one of three top-30 nationally-ranked individuals on hand with Washington freshman Cheng-Tsung Pan (eighth, 70.81) and junior Chris Williams (12th, 71.00).
Ranked top 10 nationally all season long, UO features one of its most talented squads ever, composed of four seniors who have led the team to team wins in its first three fall events, and third- and 12th-place efforts in its two stroke play events since then.
SIZING UP THE FIELD
In this week’s Golfstat rankings, the No. 9 Ducks climbed one spot, and own the second-highest ranking in the field behind No. 3 Washington, who also improved a position this week.
LAST TIME OUT
LONG BEACH, Calif. (2/27-28/12) – Two weeks ago, then-No. 10 UO competed in the Dell Walker Match Play in Long Beach, Calif., and won two of the events vs. UC Davis (3.5-1.5) and then-No. 6 USC (2.5-2.5), and fell to then-No. 9 California (3.5-1.5).
Individual-wise in the three events, senior Eugene Wong and redshirt junior Robbie Ziegler both won two of their contests, seniors Daniel Miernicki and Andrew Vijarro both won and tied once, and freshman Rak Cho tied once.
Complete wrap-ups from each day are available via the schedule link above.
DUCK TEAM BREAKDOWN
This year, senior Eugene Wong has led the team in the final standings of four of the team's five events. His win in the Alister MacKenzie Invitational (65-63-67-195) was his third career-wise, and his 18-under score was a career best by eight strokes.
Among his 15 rounds this fall, he also owns the team high this season for rounds under-par (11), and has another at par, and has paced the team eight times. Nationally, the 2010 Nickalaus Award winner ranks first this week nationally in the Golfstat rankings (69.00).
Three other Ducks have also played five events this fall and rank top 160 nationally - seniors Daniel Miernicki (41st, 70.93) and Andrew Vijarro (156th, 71.93) and freshman Rak Cho (93rd, 71.47).
Miernicki had the team's hottest start last fall, and opened with nine straight rounds of par or better, including seven under-par. He has led the team twice in rounds this year, and had four top-20 placings his first four events - the St. Mary's Invitational (3rd, 72-68-70-210), The Prestige (fifth, 70-69-68-207), Alister MacKenzie Invitational (12th-t, 67-68-71-206) and the Gifford Collegiate (20th-t, 73-73-72-218).
Vijarro had a similarly impressive early season run of six under-par rounds in a stretch of nine to cap the fall. His nine-under tourney score in The Prestige (fifth-t, 68-71-68-207) was an overall career best by two strokes. He added two more top-20 efforts in the St. Mary's Invitational (20th-t, 73-72-76-221) and Gifford Collegiate (17th, 75-74-68-217), and his other fall effort in the Alister MacKenzie Invitational featured two under-par rounds (31st, 73-69-69-211).
Freshman Rak Cho connected on under-par scores in six of his first nine rounds for the Ducks last fall, including a season-best five-under-67 in the finale of his collegiate debut, the St. Mary's Invitational (second, 74-68-67-209). He added a third-place effort in the Alister MacKenzie Invitational (third-tie, 67-68-66-201) en route to a 12-under tourney score that ties UO's best of the season with Eugene Wong. In the spring, he tied his season low round with his five-under 67 in the Amer Ari Invitational opener in early February.
Redshirt junior Robbie Ziegler played three fall events for the Ducks last fall after redshirting the 2010-11 campaign. The Canby, Ore., native kicked off the fall with a 15th-place finish in the St. Mary's Invitational (20th-t, 73-72-76-221) - one of four top-20 finishers for the Ducks in the event. He logged two under-par scores in his first four of the season, including a two-under season best in the St. Mary's finale.
Redshirt senior Jack Paton has played four events and has carded three rounds at par and another under-par. The Hillsborough, Calif., native has placed top 50 in each event, with his top two events in his first stops of the fall - the St. Mary's Invitational (33rd-tie, 70-81-76-227) and Alister MacKenzie Invitational (31st, 71-72-77-220).
OREGON PLAYER CAREER OVERVIEWS
- Daniel Miernicki, Sr., Santee, Calif.
Led UO Rounds 50 (Sr. 2, Jr. 13, So. 20, Fr. 15) / Tourneys 14 (Jr. 4, So. 6, Fr. 4)
Under-Par Rounds 50 (Sr. 7, Jr. 13, So. 19, Fr. 11)
Rounds at Par 17 (Sr. 3, Jr. 6, So. 8, Fr. 6)
Career Best Round 62 (-10) (Sr. 67/68 (-4), Jr. 62 (-10), So. 64 (-7), Fr. 67 (-5))
Career Best Tourney Place 1st-4 Times (Sr. 3rd, Jr. 1st x2, So. 1st x2, Fr. 3rd)
Career Best Tourney Score 203 (-13) (Sr. 207 (-9), Jr. 203 (-13), So. 274 (-10), Fr. 209 (-7))
- Eugene Wong, Sr., North Vancouver, B.C.
Led UO Rounds 36 (Sr. 8, Jr. 5, So. 15, Fr. 8) / 11 Tourneys (Sr. 4, Jr. 2, So. 4, Fr. 1)
Under-Par Rounds 52 (Sr. 11, Jr. 5, So. 26, Fr. 10)
Rounds at Par 16 (Sr. 1, Jr. 4, So. 5, Fr. 6)
Career Best Round 63/64 (-8) (Sr. 63/64 (-8), Jr. 68 (-4), So. 64 (-7), Fr. 65 (-7))
Career Best Tourney Place 1st x3 (Sr. 1st, Jr. 5th, So. 1st x2, Fr. 10th)
Career Best Tourney Score 195 (-18) (Sr. 195 (-18), Jr. 214 (-2), So. 203 (-10), Fr. 208 (-8))
- Jack Paton, RSr., Canby, Ore.
Led UO Rounds 6 (Sr. 1, Jr. 1, So. 4, Fr. 0) / 0 Tourneys
Under-Par Rounds 7 (Sr. 1, Jr. 2, So. 4, Fr. 0),
Rounds at Par 7 (Sr. 3, Jr. 3, So. 1, Fr. 0)
Career Best Round 65 (-5) (Sr. 70 (-2), Jr. 68 (-2), So. 65 (-5), Fr. 70 (-2))
Career Best Tourney Place 2nd (Sr. 31st, Jr. 8th, So. 2nd, Fr. 12th)
Career Best Tourney Score 208 (-8) (Sr. 218 (+2), Jr. 216 (E), So. 208 (-8), Fr. 220 (+6))
- Andrew Vijarro, Sr. Bend, Ore.
Led UO Rounds 22 (Sr. 3, Jr. 6, So. 8, Fr. 5) / 10 Tourneys (Jr. 5, So. 3, Fr. 2)
Under-Par Rounds 35 (Sr. 7, Jr. 8, 15 So., 5 Fr.)
Rounds at Par 9 (Sr. 1, Jr. 4, So. 3, Fr. 1)
Career Best Round 66 (-5) (Sr. 68 (-4), Jr. 68 (-4), So. 66 (-5), Fr. 68 (-4))
Career Best Tourney Place 3rd (Sr. 5th, Jr. 4th, So. 3rd, Fr. 4th)
Career Best Tourney Score 207 (-9) (Sr. 207 (-9), Jr. 214 (-1), So. 135 (-7), Fr. 209 (-1))
- Tyler Parker, Jr., Portland, Ore.
Rounds at Par 1 (Fr. 1)
Career Best Round (So. 75 (+3), Fr. 72 (E))
Career Best Tourney Place (So. 55th, Fr. 17th)
Career Best Tourney Score (So. 227 (+11), Fr. 228 (+12))
- Robbie Ziegler, RJr., Canby, Ore.
Led UO Rounds 17 (So. 5, Fr. 12) / 4 Tourneys (So. 1, Fr. 3)
Under-Par Rounds 19 (Jr. 2, So. 7, Fr. 10)
Round at Par 4 (So. 2, Fr. 2)
Career Best Round 66 (-6) (Jr. 70 (-2), So. 66 (-6), Fr. 69 (-3))
Career Best Tourney Place 2nd (Jr. 31st, So. 3rd, Fr. 2nd)
Career Best Tourney Score (Jr. 220 (+4), So. 213 (-3), Fr. 213 (-3))
- Ben Itterman, So., Carlsbad, Calif.
3 Under-Par Rounds (Fr. 3)
1 Round at Par (Fr. 1)
Career Best Round: 70 (-2) x2 (Fr. 70 (-2) x2)
Career Best Tourney Place: 8th (Fr. 8th)
Career Best Tourney Score: 216 (+1) (Fr. 216 (+1)
THE ROAD TO LOS ANGELES
Over the course of this season, the Ducks will set their sights on their 25th NCAA Championships trip and fourth under the guidance of head coach Casey Martin, with the 2012 finale set for May 29-June 3 at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, Calif.
The postseason kicks off three weeks prior with the first-ever Pac-12 Championships, Fri.-Sun., April 27-29 at Trysting Tree Golf Club in Corvallis, Ore.. Two weeks later, six 14-team NCAA Regionals will be held Thu.-Sun., May 17-19 in Ann Arbor, Mich., Bowling Green, Kent., Athens, Ga., Greensboro, N.C., Norman, Okla. and Stanford, Calif.
PAC-12 RULES NATIONAL RANKINGS
This week, No. 9 Oregon is one of six Pac-12 teams that rank top 13 nationally - No. 3 Washington, No. 4 UCLA, No. 5 California, No. 11 USC and No. 13 Stanford.
One other league team stood top 50 - Arizona (50) – and the league’s other members are Oregon State (53), Colorado (74), Arizona State (79) and Washington State (121).
Individual-wise, senior Eugene Wong (first, 69.00) led the national individual rankings, and others ranked top 25 include Stanford freshman Patrick Rodgers (seventh, 71.29), Washington freshman Cheng-Tsung Pan (eighth, 70.81), Washington junior Chris Williams (12th, 71.00), senior Steve Lim (19th, 71.61) and junior Max Homa (21st, 71.10).
In last June's NCAA Championships, the ‘Conference of Champions’ featured one team in the quarterfinals (UCLA), and the Bruins led the stroke play scoring (872) by three strokes. Three other league members placed in the opening three rounds - USC (12th-t, 895), Arizona State (18th, 899) and California (19th-t, 902).
On the individual front, the Pac-12 featured the national runner-up - UCLA's Patrick Cantlay (72-69-71-212), and two four more top-20 finishers in California's Michael Weaver (eighth-tie, 71-71-74-216) and Max Homa (17th-t, 73-74-72-219), USC's Jeffrey Kang (20th-t, 72-73-75-220) and UCLA's Gregor Main (20th-t, 72-70-78-220).
Historically, five different Pac-10 teams (Stanford (7 - 1938, 39, 41, 42, 46, 53, 94), Arizona State (2 - 1990, 96), UCLA (2 - 1988, 208), Arizona (1 - 1992) and California (1 - 2004) have combined for 13 team titles since the first collegiate championship in 1897.
League individuals have claimed 14 championships in the same span courtesy of Stanford's Frank Tatum (1942) and Tiger Woods (1996), USC's Scott Simpson (1976, '77), Ron Commons (1981) and Jamie Lovemark (2007), Arizona State's Jim Carter (1983), Phil Mickelson (1989, '90, '92), Todd Demsey (1993) and Alejandro Cañizares (2003),Washington's James Lepp (2005) and UCLA's Kevin Chappell (2008).
DUCK NCAA HISTORY
The Ducks have made three of their 24 NCAA appearances under the guidance of fifth-year head coach Casey MartIn. In that span, the team's third-place tie in 2010 was its best-ever in program history, and one place better than its showing in 1959. His other youth-laden squads in '09 and '08 placed 22nd and 27th, respectively.
UO's all-time finishes in order of placing follow: third - 2010 (Stroke Play-861), fourth (1959 - 574), seventh (197 - 1228), 10th (1976 - 1194), 11th (1978 - 1188), 14th (1948 - 616; 1956 - 620; 1970 - 1208), 15th (1957 - 632), 16th (1960 - 628; 1975 - 1215), 17th (1947 - 638), 18th (1950 - 619; 1986 - 1192; 1999 - 614), 22nd (1983 - 907; 2003 - 924; 2009 - 897); 23rd (1990 - 1206), 27th (1981 - 904; 1998 - 590; 2008 - 935), 30th (1987 - 926) and 32nd (1964 - 640)
UO CONFERENCE HISTORY
Oregon’s runner-up finish last year was its second under head coach Casey Martin, and tied its best-ever placing that it had posted four times before (1985, '86, '97, '09). In prior Pac-8 Championships between 1965-78, UO had also finished second twice before, and won the North Division in 1976 and '77.
UO’s all-time Pac-10/12 finishes follow: 1979 5th, 1980 6th, 1981 3rd, 1982 4th, 1983 5th, 1984 7th, 1985 2nd, 1986 2nd, 1987 4th, 1989 T4th, 1990 6th, 1991 6th, 1992 5th, 1993 6th, 1994 T6th, 1995 5th, 1996 10th, 1997 2nd, 1998 7th, 1999 3rd, 2000 4th, 2001 8th, 2002 5th, 2003 7th, 2004 7th, 2005 5th, 2006 10th, 2007 8th, 2008 9th-t, 2009 2nd, 2010 6th-t, 2011 2nd (1st-t regulation)
TOP DUCK PROFILE
Sixth-year Duck head coach Casey Martin has established himself as one of the nation's most respected coaches after an equally noteworthy collegiate and pro playing career.
The Eugene native was tabbed the Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 2010 - his fourth season at the helm - after he led the Ducks to a school-record five tournament victories, including Oregon’s first-ever NCAA Regional title. UO followed with a school-best tie for third place in the NCAA Championships in Chattanooga, Tenn., thanks to a fifth-place effort in stroke play, and quarterfinal match play win over league rival Washington, 3-2.
That same 2009-10 season, then-sophomore Eugene Wong was tabbed the co-Pac-10 Golfer of the Year, won the Jack Nicklaus Award as the Division I player of the year and was named a first-team PING All-American. Wong's tie for ninth at the NCAA Championships is believed to be the best finish ever by a UO golfer.
Other highlights his first few seasons included, wins in the 2006 Northwest Collegiate Classic - his second event at the Duck helm - and the 2007 Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe. Prior to becoming head coach, he served as a volunteer assistant for the Ducks during the 2005-06 season.
Before that he was one of the nation's most recognized professionals since the start of his pro career in 1998. He earned his PGA Tour card in 2000 - the same season he recorded five top-50 finishes. His best showing was a tie for 17th in the 2000 Tucson Open, and he also placed 23rd in the the 1998 U.S. Open.
A graduate of South Eugene High School, Martin was a three time all-conference selection and a two-time All-American while golfing at Stanford. In 1995, he received academic All-American honors while graduating from Stanford with a degree in economics. He was a member of the 1994 Stanford team that won the NCAA championship.
LANNING JOINS FOLD
The Oregon men's golf team welcomed Brad Lanning to the program this past summer as a first-year assistant coach. In his recent work as a highly successful high school golf coach, head coach Casey Martin also welcomes his former Stanford teammate from three seasons, including the Cardinal's 1994 NCAA Championship squad.
After college, Lanning spent six years playing professionally with stints on the Hooters Tour, South American Tour and Canadian PGA, and also worked as a stock broker before entering the coaching ranks.
Success came quickly for Lanning as a high school assistant coach with a state title and runner-up finish in two years at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Bradenton, Fla. After relocating to Colorado to enter a master’s program at Denver Seminary, Lanning assisted Valor Christian High School to a pair of state championships in his three seasons at the helm.
A 1994 Stanford graduate with a degree in Political Science, Lanning, 40, earned his master’s in Counseling at Denver Seminary in 2011.
MORE ONLINE GOLF INFORMATION
Pac-12 Conference – www.Pac-12.org
NCAA – www.NCAA.org / www.NCAAsports.com
Golf Coaches Association of America - www.collegiategolf.com
Golfstat - www.Golfstat.com
Golfweek - www.Golfweek.com
Junior Golf Scoreboard - www.njgs.com
USGA - www.usga.org
PNGA - www.thepnga.org
OGA - www.oga.org
OREGON GOLF MEDIA
Daily Emerald Student Newspaper: www.dailyemerald.com
Eugene Register Guard: www.registerguard.com
Oregonian: www.oregonlive.com
KEZI-TV (ABC): www.kezi.org
KMTR-TV (NBC): www.kmtr.org
KVAL-TV (CBS): www.kval.org
KUGN-590 AM (Radio): www.kugn.com
Duck News (Online): www.DuckNews.com
MEDIA SERVICES INFORMATION
Assistant AD, Media Services: Dave Williford
Assistant Dir. (M Golf Contact): Geoff Thurner, (541) 346-2250
E-mail: gthurner@uoregon.edu
Department web site: www.goducks.com
Address: 2727 Leo Harris Parkway, Eugene, Ore. 97401
Office Phone: 541/346-5488
Office FAX: 541/346-5449
- www.GoDucks.com –
