The University men and women’s golf teams had a busy spring break, hosting their only local tournaments of the season.
The men hosted the 15th annual Oregon Duck Invitational at the Eugene Country Club.
Sophomore Jack Dukeminier led the way for the Ducks by matching his season low round score of 69 in the cold but dry morning conditions. He then went on to shoot a 1-over 73 in the second round to finish at 2-under 142 for the tournament.
As a team, the Ducks finished with opening rounds of 286 and 304.
Redshirt freshman John Paton also helped Oregon in his first collegiate tournament. He put together rounds of 70-74 to earn him a share of third place. Sophomore Sean Maekawa shot 71-74 to tie for sixth at 145, while fellow sophomore Eric Grimberg had rounds of 72-75 and was tied for 14th at 147.
The following day Dukeminier and Washington junior Nick Taylor battled shot for shot the entire day in what looked to be a dead-even competition until the very last hole. But on the 18th hole, Taylor was able to convert on an easy par to complete his 4-under day and edged Dukeminier by a single shot. The win gave Taylor his third victory of the year.
In Dukeminier’s strongest performance of his collegiate career, he shot a 4-under 212 to finish in second place overall. Freshmen Daniel Miernicki and Robbie Ziegler, along with Grimberg, each finished in the top 10 for the Ducks.
Oregon finished the tournament in second place, falling just short to Washington. Oregon State followed in third and Colorado behind in fourth.
The Ducks are competing at the Western Intercollegiate tournament in Santa Cruz, Calif., until Tuesday.
Women take second at own tournament
While the men’s team was in a tight battle until the final putt, the Oregon women jumped out to a hot start in the women’s portion of the Duck Invitational. The No. 29 Ducks were in a strong second place only eight strokes behind No. 28 San Francisco for first place at the end of the first day.
Freshman Ashley Edwards and sophomore Kendra Little led the way for the Ducks, as they stood in third place overall with identical scores in each round (73-75-148). Senior Cathryn Bristow and junior Felicia Eastick sat tied for 19th to put two more Oregon women in the top 20.
The following day Little continued her strong play and notched her second top-five finish of the season as she shot her way to third-place finish overall. Little held the low score each round for the Ducks, matching her first-round score of 73 in the final round.
Edwards also continued to shine as she finished in fifth place. Junior Kate Hildahl took ninth place as the third and final Oregon player to finish in the top 10. Shortly behind her was Bristow, who shot a 73 in the last round, to tie for 12th place.
The Duck women will be back in action next weekend as they travel to Tempe, Ariz., for the Arizona State University Invitational.
– Lucas Clark