The Oregon women’s golf team landed in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii and said ‘Aloha’ to day one of the Pac-12 preview which teed off at Nanea Golf Club. 

After two runner-up finishes and a top five finish in the team’s last tournament at the Stanford Collegiate, the Ducks looked to carry the momentum into this week.

Monday was a day in paradise for senior Amy Matsuoka, as she finished day one tied for the individual lead, at 68, alongside Arizona’s Therese Warner and a single stroke ahead of UCLA’s Emma Spitz. Matsuoka capitalized on the first day by ending it with the best round of her career. 

The senior was on fire, making par on the first four holes as she entered the halfway point with one under. The second half of the round was stellar as well as the California native made her mark. She shot four under with four bogies and finished 5-under par. Matsuoka also tied for the best mark of the day with 3-under on par-4 holes.

Freshman Sofie Kibsgaard Nielson also ended the day on a high note with 2-under par at 71, tying with five other tournament players for seventh place. 

Teammates Alexis Phadungmartvorakul, Ching-Tzu Chen, and Tze-Han Lin concluded the day tied for 19th, 31th and 47th, respectively. 

The team overall stands in third place at 5-under par at 287, behind No. 22 UCLA in second and first place No. 8 Arizona. 

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