The Oregon Ducks men’s golf team capped off its regular season by clinching the program’s first Pac-12 Championship since 1959 on Sunday. Wyndham Clark took home the individual championship giving the Ducks their first medalist since 1978.
It was a two-team race to the finish as the Ducks won the title by three strokes over the No. 4 Stanford Cardinal. Washington and USC finished in third place, 14 strokes behind the Cardinal.
Stanford pulled within one stroke of the Ducks four times in the final round, but that was as close as it would come.
Clark outlasted Rico Hoey of USC and Franklin Huang of Stanford by three strokes to clinch the individual title. They were the only players to finish the event under par.
Ryan Gronlund (+4) finished in the top 10. Norman Xiong (+6) finished tied for 14th and Edwin Yi fell to a 9-over par finish after surrendering five strokes in the final round. He finished tied with teammate Sulman Raza who posted even for the final round. Kevin Geniza rounded out the Oregon starting lineup by finishing 11-over par.
The tournament faced a delay due to snowy conditions in Boulder, Colorado. The teams were unable to take the course on Saturday which changed the championship format. The event was scheduled to be a four-round event, but one round was eliminated so the tournament could be completed within the weekend.
Next up for the Ducks will be the NCAA Regionals which span three days starting on May 15. The teams that advance from the regionals will compete in the NCAA Championships in Sugar Grove, Illinois. Should the Ducks qualify for the NCAA Championships, they’ll get an opportunity to defend the school’s first national title.
Follow Zak Laster on Twitter @zlast3445