After a spectacular regular season, it was only fitting the No. 4 men’s golf team finished its final tournament on top. The Ducks won the Western Intercollegiate in Santa Cruz, Calif., with relative ease, and head into next week’s Pacific-10 Conference Championships with their heads held high.
With a final score of 1,038 (12 under par), Oregon was one of just two teams to break par in the tournament. The other was No. 5 UCLA, which finished in second place with a score of 1045 (five under par). UC Irvine rounded out the top three with a 1,079 (29 over par).
Eugene Wong, currently ranked fifth in the country, capped off a breakout season with his second individual win. The sophomore shot a 202 (eight under par) for the tournament, closing with a final round 67 (three under par).
Redshirt sophomore John Paton, meanwhile, had easily his best performance of the season. After shooting a blistering final round 65 (five-under par), Paton climbed all the way up to 2nd place overall, behind his teammate Wong. His final score of 205 (five-under par) was just three off of Wong’s. Paton’s performance was particularly surprising, given that he was the sixth-ranked player on the Ducks’ roster.
Sophomore Andrew Vijarro also had an impressive showing, tying for 10th place with a score of 211 (one over par). Following close behind Vijarro was junior Jack Dukeminier, whose final score of 212 (two over par) was good for 13th overall. Sophomore Daniel Miernicki and junior Isaiah Telles tied for 14th.
With the regular season now over, Oregon heads into the Pac-10 Tournament as the third ranked team in the conference according to Golfstat. No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 Washington are ranked higher than the Ducks, while No. 5 UCLA and No. 9 USC follow close behind. Of the 10 teams that make up the Pac-10, seven are ranked in the top 25 by Golfstat. Talented as they are, the Ducks will face plenty of competition in the Pac-10 Championships, which will be held in Tempe, Ariz.
Still, Oregon’s ability to compete with the best cannot be questioned. The Pac-10 Championships provide a perfect opportunity for the team to prove it belongs at the top.
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