The Oregon men’s and women’s golf teams head into action this weekend with a similar goal: To control their own fate heading into the upcoming Pacific-10 Championships that loom a few weeks away. Each team has its own agenda, and each needs a solid showing to secure their respective bids.
For the men, the task is a little more arduous, starting with this week’s PING/ASU Thunderbird Invitational, held at the par-72, 7,037-yard Karsten Golf Course in Tempe, Ariz. The field includes eight of the top 25 teams in this week’s Golfweek rankings and will provide some of the toughest competition this year.
This type of field isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because with a solid weekend, the Ducks will most certainly move up into one of the 12 spots that receives automatic bids into the NCAA Regionals next month. Currently, the Ducks sit in 14th place in the West region, and are battling with a number of teams — Stanford, UC­Irvine, Long Beach State, UC­Riverside, New Mexico State, Pacific, Oregon State, and Washington State — for the remaining four regional spots. The Ducks have set a school record seven-straight NCAA regional appearances, and with a win over a couple of the teams currently sitting ahead of them, they will have an excellent chance to up their streak to eight.
“We would probably be one of the last teams out right now,” Oregon men’s coach Steve Nosler said. “But we still have the opportunity to play ourselves into the regional. Any team that we beat that is ranked ahead of us will help.”
Oregon will send the two hottest golfers of the spring, freshman Dustin Pewarchuk and sophomore Justin St. Clair, to Arizona. Pewarchuk has a 72.4 stroke average this spring and a couple of top-20 finishes to boot, while St. Clair is averaging 72.9 strokes per round through four events. Oregon will also send freshman Matt Ma, sophomore Kyle Johnson, and senior Mike Sica, who is coming off of a fourth-place finish at the Duck Invitational in March.
The tournament field includes 7th-ranked host school Arizona State, No. 10 Arizona, No. 13 Nevada-Las Vegas, No.14 Brigham Young, No.15 Southern California, No. 21 New Mexico, No. 22 Washington, Oregon State, Pepperdine, San Diego State, Stanford, Texas-El Paso and Texas Tech.
The Ducks tee off for the first of two rounds today and will conclude the 54-hole tournament on Saturday.

An easier road
For the women’s golf team, the chances of a NCAA Regional berth are all but assured.
Solid. A lock.
The season continues on this weekend at the previously unscheduled Peg Barnard Invitational, held at the par-72, 6,168-yard Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, Calif., starting Saturday. The tournament was added after the first event of the spring, the Feb. 27-29 Pinehurst Challenge in North Carolina, was canceled due to snow.
The good news for the Ducks is that the Peg Barnard gives them the opportunity to play the Stanford Golf Course for the second time this year. Normally, that might not mean much, but because the NCAA West Regionals will be held on the very same course in early May, the added bonus of another couple of rounds is invaluable.
“We’re going with the five players who played here in the fall and that’s when we shot our best round of the season,” Oregon women’s coach Shannon Rouillard said. “And, for whatever reason, this course has given us problems in the past, so it benefits us to have that experience from the fall and even more so looking forward to the regional.”
A good showing at Stanford will lock the Ducks’ first bid to the NCAA West Regional since 2001. Oregon’s contingent will consist of junior Johnna Nealy; sophomores Therese Wenslow, Erin Andrews and Michelle Timpani; and freshman Kim McCready.
Wenslow has been playing the best golf of the spring, notching four consecutive top-25 finishes and leading the team with a 74.5 stroke average. In her last two tournaments, Timpani has secured her two highest career finishes, a first place at the Colby Invitational and a ninth place at the Duck Invitational.
The field includes No. 12 Washington, No. 24 Stanford, UC Irvine, defending champion Denver, Long Beach State, Montana State, Nevada, Oregon State, Portland State, San Francisco, San Jose State, Scottish Institute and Washington State.
The Ducks will tee off Friday and conclude the tournament on Saturday.