After failing to win its own tournament over spring break, the Oregon men’s golf team decided to hit the links with a vengeance at the Western Intercollegiate.
The Ducks currently lead the pack of 17 teams at the tournament in Santa Cruz, Calif., after two rounds. Oregon has a two-round total score of 571, six strokes ahead of second-place Washington.
“I’m really pleased with the way the boys are playing,” Oregon head coach Steve Nosler said.
The Ducks were led by the play of sophomores Chris Carnahan and John Ellis. Carnahan is in fourth place with a two-round total of 140. Ellis is one stroke behind Carnahan in fifth place.
The rest of the Oregon team also turned in impressive performances. Senior Matt Genovese is in 15th place, redshirt freshman Mike Sica is in 38th and junior Aaron Byers is 45th.
Lars Johansson of San Diego State is leading the individual pack. He shot a 132 over the first two rounds to lead Jason Higton of Pacific by four strokes. Johansson leads Carnahan by eight strokes.
The Ducks will play the final 18 holes of golf today, starting at 8 a.m.
Nosler hopes his team can keep up the intensity over the final 18 holes.
“The course is playing very tough, and there are a lot of good schools here,” Nosler said. “We need to continue to have all five guys playing well tomorrow.”
Nosler cautioned against the Ducks being too confident.
“We’ve been in this position before and haven’t got it done,” Nosler said. “It’s time for us to keep the momentum going and win this thing.”
The Ducks have come close, but they haven’t won a tournament this year. They finished second at the Husky Invitational and fifth at the Northwest Classic and Pepperdine Intercollegiate tournaments in the fall.