The Oregon men’s golf team has been struggling to get out of the dark during the early part of the 2004 spring season.
Darkness again suspended the second round of a tournament for the Ducks. This time it was at the 27th annual Cleveland Golf Collegiate Invitational on the 6,815-yard, par-71 North Ranch Country Club course in Westlake Village, Calif. When play was halted, the Ducks were at a 12-over 296, good for 16th place in a loaded field that included eight of the top-25 teams in this week’s Golfweek rankings.
Individually, three out of the five Oregon players completed two rounds on Friday. Sophomore Justin St. Clair led the Ducks with a score of 4-over 147, good for a tie for 37th. Fellow sophomore Gregg LaVoie followed with a 5-over 148.
The other Duck to complete his first two rounds was senior Jimmy White, who finished with a 10-over 154, tied for 70th. Freshman Matt Ma completed the first round with a 79, and senior Mike Sica fired an opening round 81.
Only three of the 17 teams competing in the tournament completed two rounds of play. Host school and No. 24 USC led all teams with a single-round score of 2-under 283. Eleventh-ranked Texas trailed close behind, while No. 20 BYU finished in 3rd.
TCU, fourth, and Alabama round out the top five. Third-ranked UCLA is the surprise in the second tier of teams that includes California, Tennessee, Oregon State and Arizona State. The Bruins, who are looking for their 11th victory since last February, currently sit ninth with 293.
The tournament’s individual leader is Texas sophomore Matthew Rosenfeld. Rosenfeld fired rounds of 67 and 68 to finish with a 7-under 135. The remainder of the second round starts Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., followed immediately by a shotgun start for the third round.