The Oregon men’s golf team shot its second straight 8-under 280 Saturday to finish fourth at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational, played at the 7,027-yard, par-72 Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz. The Ducks, unranked in this week’s Golfweek/Sagarin top 25, finished higher than seven ranked opponents.
“We had a great tournament,” Oregon head coach Steve Nosler said. “This tournament is a who’s who of golf, and we competed extremely well.”
Chris Carnahan finished third after a 1-over 73 Saturday. The junior from Albany was 11-under for the tournament at 205, which included a career-low round of 64 on Friday. It was Carnahan’s highest finish since taking second in the season opener — the Northwest Collegiate Classic last September.
Senior Aaron Byers, another Albany native, had a final round 68 and finished tied for 19th at 5-under 211. Junior John Ellis shot a 69 Saturday and tied for 31st at 2-under 214. Senior Chris Heniff, competing as an individual, tied his best round as a collegian with an even-par 72 Saturday.
“There were birdies available out there, and we took advantage of those opportunities,” Nosler said. “The guys just hung in there and played hard all the way.”
No. 7 Texas won the event with a 32-under 832 total, while host Arizona State was second at 26-under 838. No. 24 Pepperdine was third at 25-under 839, while the Ducks shot a 21-under 843.
Oregon finished higher than several nationally ranked teams, including No. 6 Oklahoma State (848), No. 8 Texas Christian (845), No. 9 USC (854), No. 11 Washington (869), No. 17 Oklahoma (856), No. 22 New Mexico (853) and No. 25 Arizona (845).
“It was a real high national-caliber tournament,” Nosler said. “Eleven of our last 12 rounds have been very good. I think we’re peaking at the right time.”
Oregon returns to action next weekend in the U.S. Intercollegiate at Stanford, before gearing up for the Pac-10 Tournament April 25-27 at Trysting Tree in Corvallis.

— from staff and wire reports