The Oregon men’s golf team sent all of its upperclassmen to La Quinta, Calif., but in the end, it was a freshman who led the way.
True freshman Gregg LaVoie finished in a career-best 15th-place tie as the Ducks finished tied for 10th at the two-day Prestige, which concluded Tuesday. LaVoie, who Oregon head coach Steve Nosler said would be an immediate impact player before the season started, fired a 2-over par 218, helping the Ducks improve six places over the second day.
“It wasn’t planned to have all our upperclassmen going,” Nosler said. “But it just worked out that way in qualifying.”
The Ducks carded a 30-over 894, 41 strokes behind tournament winner Texas Christian’s 853. The Horned Frogs were the only team to finish under par, including rounds of 284, 287 and 282. California Irvine finished second with a 4-over 868, followed by Pepperdine at 873 and UCLA at 877. Vanderbilt rounded out the top five with an 880.
“Our goal coming in was to win the tournament, and after a slow start in the first round, our guys played great,” TCU head coach Bill Montigel said. “We played exceptionally well over the last two rounds and I am really proud of the guys.”
Individual honors went to Kansas senior Chris Marshall, who fired an 11-under 207. TCU senior Adam Rubinson finished second, one stroke off the pace, followed by Vanderbilt’s Brandt Snedeker at 211, Stanford’s Jim Seki at 212 and California-Irvine’s Jay Choe at 213.
— Jon Roetman
for the Emerald