Vying for its first trip to the NCAA Championships since 1999, the Oregon men’s golf team begins a shootout today against the best teams in the region.
The Ducks will start this afternoon on the back nine at the NCAA West Regional, played on the 7,368-yard, par 72 South Champions Course in Albuquerque, N.M..
The top 10 teams and two individuals will advance to the NCAA Championships May 29-June 1 in Columbus, Ohio.
“We’re not going down there thinking about 10th place, we’re thinking about winning,” Oregon head coach Steve Nosler said. “If we’re in first, we know we’re going to nationals, but if we fall a bit short of that, then hopefully we’re still somewhere in the top 10.”
Oregon enters as the 11th seed and will be paired with No. 10 Nevada and No. 12 Ohio State for today’s first round, beginning at 12:18 p.m., and Friday’s second round. Final round pairings for Saturday will be based on team standings after the first two rounds.
“We haven’t played at New Mexico in a few years, but I’ve seen it when the wind is really blowing and the course plays extremely long and I’ve also seen it when there is no wind, and if that’s the case, it will be a shootout,” Nosler said.
The Ducks had a strong finish this spring with six straight top-six finishes since the beginning of March. Most recently, Oregon finished fifth at the Pacific-10 Conference Championships at the end of April.
Four of the Duck’s five golfers have season stroke averages within two of par. Senior Aaron Byers, from Albany, leads the Ducks with a 72.4 stroke average followed by junior John Ellis at 72.6 strokes per round.
Junior Chris Carnahan, another Albany native, is third for Oregon at 73.2 with Portland native Brandon Harnden , a senior captain, at 73.6. Sophomore Mike Sica, who averages 75.3 strokes per round, will play fifth for the Ducks.
Oregon will face tough competition to reach nationals including Pac-10 champion USC as the West’s No. 1 seed, followed by Texas, Fresno State, Washington, San Diego State and Arizona.
It has been four years since the Ducks last played in Albuquerque, at the 1998 NCAA Championships. That Oregon team finished tied for 27th and did not make the second round cut.
But with their consistency this year, the Ducks said they plan to go much further.