The Oregon men’s golf team goes into today’s opening round of the Pacific-10 Conference Championships knowing the situation remains the same: The Ducks are still on the outside looking in.
Needing one more solid finish to have a chance at an NCAA West Regional bid, the Ducks will square off against some of the nation’s elite at the par-72, 7,412-yard North Course of the Gallery at Dove Mountain in Tucson, Ariz.
“The Pac-10 is always one of the best conferences in the country and this year is no exception,” Oregon head coach Steve Nosler said. “UCLA might be the best team in the country, but you’ve got another four or five teams who are good enough to win it. We’d like to compete as hard as we can and then the score will take care of itself.”
UCLA is indeed one of the best teams in country, according to this week’s Golfweek rankings. The defending champions are ranked third in the nation and are the prohibitive favorite heading into this week’s tournament. The Bruins should receive stiff competition from No. 5 Arizona State, No. 8 Arizona, No. 12 Southern California, No. 18 California and No. 25 Washington.
For the Ducks, the goal is simpler. A strong finish could possibly elevate them into one of the 12 automatic bids for regionals. Currently, the Ducks are the 13th-ranked team in the West region, and if the standings hold, Oregon would be the first team not to receive a bid.
“We probably need to finish fifth or so to get a couple of quality wins,” Nosler said.
The Ducks will be competing in a nontraditional six-count-five format instead of the normal five-count-four. The Oregon contingent includes senior Mike Sica; sophomores Justin St. Clair, last year’s top finisher Gregg LaVoie; Kyle Johnson; and freshmen Matt Ma and Dustin Pewarchuk.
St. Clair has been Oregon’s most consistent golfer this season with a 72.9 stroke average and three top-20 finishes — including last week’s tie for 19th at the U.S. Intercollegiate in Stanford.
Co-Captain Sica has been playing his best golf of late, finishing with a career-best tie for fourth at the Duck Invitational last month. Sica also recorded consecutive under par finishes for the first time in his career.
Individually, the players that should contend for the title are Arizona’s Chris Nallen, Washington’s Brock Mackenzie, and Arizona State’s Chez Reavie.
Reavie is the 15th-ranked player in the country and is 41-under par in his last eight tournaments. Mackenzie, Washington’s senior captain, has six top-10 finishes in nine tournaments this year, and is a finalist for the Hogan Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top men’s golfer. Nallen has a season-stroke average of 69.78, and has three individual titles this season.
The teams will play 36 holes today and will conclude the 72-hole event Wednesday.