The Oregon men’s golf team finished the first round of the TaylorMade-Waikoloa Intercollegiate one spot higher than last year’s showing.
The Ducks, who sent two freshmen and three sophomores to Hawaii, finished with a team score of 6-over 294, good for a tie for 13th with the University of Rhode Island on the 7,074-yard, par-72 Waikoloa Kings Golf Course in Waikoloa, Hawaii. The Ducks are 22 strokes back of the leader, fifth-ranked Georgia Tech.
The young squad continued to show the inconsistency and inexperience that has hampered it all year. Looking to turn a corner after shooting a season-best 6-under second round of the PING-Arizona Intercollegiate, the Ducks have posted rounds of 15-over and 6-over, respectively.
Sophomore Gregg LaVoie was the only Duck to finish in the top 40, posting a even par 72, finishing in 32nd. Fellow sophomores Justin St. Clair and Kyle Johnson finished a shot behind LaVoie, tied for 41st with first-round 73s. Freshman and Hawaii native Matt Ma carded a 77 in his opening round and finished in 85th. Freshman Dustin Pewarchuk, playing the best golf so far in the spring season with his first top-twenty of his career at the PING-Arizona, struggled his first nine holes, shooting a 41. Pewarchuk righted the ship and finished the back nine with a 35, posting a first round score of 76, good for 76th.
Georgia Tech, winner of three of the past six TaylorMade-Waikoloa tournaments, continued its dominant play in Hawaii, finishing with an impressive 16-under team score of 272. Georgia Tech was ten shots clear of the second place finisher, defending champs and fourth-ranked UCLA. Washington finished an impressive round tied for 3rd with No. 9 Arizona State at 283. UC Davis and Stanford finished tied for fifth at 284. The second tier of finishers includes Texas Christian University with a 285; USC at 286; host school Hawaii-Hilo at 289; and Arkansas, Nagoya Commerce (Japan) and Tulsa in a tie for 10th at 293.
Individually, four of the Georgia Tech golfers posted a score of 70 or better during the first round of play, led by their own Nicholas Thompson, who shot an 8-under 64 to take a four-shot lead over second-place finishers Brock MacKenzie of Washington and UCLA’s John Poucher, who both shot 4-under 68. Stanford’s Zach Miller and Kevin Blue tied with four other golfers for 4th, at 3-under.
Oregon returns for the second round of 18 holes Thursday morning. Tee times starts at 6:45 a.m.