The No. 7 Oregon men’s golf team got off to a solid, if unspectacular, start in the opening round of the NCAA Central Regional on Thursday, finishing the day in fifth place overall. @@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=500&ATCLID=205428318@@
The Ducks shot a four-over 288 as a team on the day, just one stroke behind Kennesaw State and Virginia (who tied for third) but ten strokes behind overall leader TCU (six-under 278). The Horned Frogs were the only team to break par all day at the University of Michigan Golf Course in Ann Arbor, Mich., as Kent State came the closest at two-over 286. Elsewhere in the standings, fellow Pac-12 squad USC stands a stroke behind Oregon in sixth place overall, while Oklahoma State and North Carolina State are tied for seventh. @@http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/leaderboards/team/static/team3428.html@@
Individually, University senior Daniel Miernicki led the way for the Ducks on day one with his even-par 71 tying for 15th overall. Fellow senior Eugene Wong and freshman Jonathan Woo tied for 23rd with one-over 72, while junior Robbie Ziegler and senior Andrew Vijarro followed close behind with two-over 73 and a tie for 31st. @@http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/leaderboards/player/static/player3428.html@@
Meanwhile, three players are tied for the overall lead at four-under 67 — TCU’s Julien Brun, Baylor’s Joakim Mikkelsen and USC’s Anthony Paolucci.
Second round play begins Friday at 8:20 a.m. Eastern Standard time.