The No. 22 Oregon men’s golf team got back on track with a quality second place showing at the Western Intercollegiate on Wednesday. Oregon’s Owen Avrit strided the Ducks through his individual second place performance of 6-under, 204, while the team’s total was 7-under, 1043.
Over the three day event, the Ducks played better than any team in the Pac-12 conference, with four players finishing in the top 20 of competition. In addition to Avrit, Greg Solhaug, Greyson Leach and Nate Stember helped carry the Ducks to their runner-up showing.
Avrit eagled hole nine on day one of play. He followed that up with strong showings on days two and three. He had back-to-back birdies moving him to third place after the 11th hole on day two. He had four birdies on the back nine including a difficult uphill putt for birdie on the 16th hole. Avrit shared the lead following a 4-under 66 after a bogey-free second round. Sitting in second place, Avrit birdied the 13th hole to gain the share of the lead at 7-under on the final day of play.
Solhaug paced the Ducks on the first day as he shot a career-low 6-under 64. At the conclusion of the event, Solhaug shot 2-under, 208, as he tied for No. 6. This was his best finish of the season as he’s peaking right before the Pac-12 championships.
Leach posted the best score for Oregon on day three, where he shot a 68. He finished tied for 16th place at 1-over, 211.
After almost acing the 18th hole, Stember tapped in his putt for birdie to end his day. He finished at No. 18 in the tournament with his 2-over, 208 total after the three day event. Although he didn’t replicate his Pac-12 golfer of the week performance, Stember’s showing shouldn’t be overlooked.
Oregon’s two athletes who placed outside the top 20 were Aiden Krafft and Eric Doyle, who tied for 34th and 42nd place, respectively. Krafft shot 7-over, 217 over the three day event. After an 8-over round one, Eric Doyle nailed a long putt for birdie on hole 14. Doyle got to 1-under for the second round, before he finished 8-over, 218 to conclude the tournament.
The spring is filled with inclement weather as the seasons change. Oregon didn’t always see clear skies and greener pastures at the Pasatiempo Golf Course, but they persevered through.
“The guys grinded,” Head coach Casey Martin said. “It was not easy with the wind and brutal greens.”
The biggest takeaway from the Western Intercollegiate is that the Ducks are finding their stride at the right time as they finished ahead of conference foes California Golden Bears and No. 7 Stanford Cardinal.
“I feel good about where we are as a team. We’re excited for Pac-12’s,” Martin said.
The Ducks will be back on the links next Friday, April 28, for the Pac-12 Championships in Stanford, CA.
