The men’s golf team got a boost from seniors Derek Sipe and Joey Benedetti, who each shot three-under-par final rounds of 69 Tuesday to lead the Ducks to a fourth-place finish in the Fresno State Lexus Golf Classic.
“It was nice to see our seniors lead us the last two rounds,” Oregon coach Casey Martin said in a press release. “And we got some solid rounds out of the freshmen. We left some strokes out there, especially in the first round, but I’m fairly pleased with how we competed the last two rounds. And we got another top four finish, so it’s hard to find too much fault with that.”
Sipe rallied back from a first-round 73 to post consecutive rounds of 69, good for a share of fifth at five-under-par.
“Derek always seems to come on in the spring, so hopefully here we go again,” said Martin. “Derek has the ability to post some really low numbers for us and to see him below par in back-to-back rounds is a very positive thing for this team.”
Benedetti finished tied for 20th along with freshman Jack Dukeminer, who shot a final round 70 to finish at two-under-par.
Oregon freshman Isiah Telles entered the final round at 2-under-par, but faltered, firing six bogeys in a four-over-par 76 Tuesday to finish the tournament at 2-over-par.
Defending event champion San Diego State continued their dominance at Fresno’s Fort Washington Country Club, finishing a combined 23-under par. The Aztecs held off a late charge by the California Golden Bears, who trailed by 13 overnight but closed the gap to just three by the end of the final round and finished at 20-under-par.
The Ducks next host the Oregon Duck Invitational, March 24-25 at Emerald Valley Golf Club in Creswell.
Bristow bright spot for women
Junior Cathryn Bristow turned in rounds of 69 on Monday and Tuesday at the UNLV Spring Rebel Invitational and sits tied for the lead at 6-under-par with University of Idaho’s Kelly Nakashima heading into Wednesday’s final round.
Kendra Little was next for No. 49 Oregon, shooting 72 and 74 to go into the final round at two-over-par.
The Ducks improved on Monday’s season-best four-over-par team score with Tuesday’s three-over-par 292, but still fell from an overnight tie for fourth-place with No. 48 Texas Tech into sole possession of fifth. The Red Raiders shot a combined two-under par Tuesday to leapfrog the University of San Francisco and take sole possession of third place.
The tournament, held at Boulder Creek Golf Club in Boulder City, Nev., is led by No. 55 Washington State at two-under-par, followed by No. 35 BYU at one-over-par.
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