The Oregon men’s golf team didn’t do much wrong Saturday.
But the only problem was that the teams in front of the Ducks just did things a little better.
Oregon finished the final round of the Taylor Made/Waikoloa Intercollegiate golf tournament in fourth place (falling from second-place), despite shooting its lowest round of the weekend.
The Ducks shot a 291 after shooting a 305 and a 308, respectively, in the two rounds prior. But No. 16 Texas finished with a blistering 281 to capture first place in the tournament played at the Waikoloa Kings & Beach Golf Course in Waikoloa, Hawaii.
“I am very, very pleased with our finish,” Oregon head coach Steve Nosler said. “We played pretty good today, but just not good enough. A lot of teams played better than we did.”
Oregon finished five points behind second-place Arizona State (313-304-281– 899) and only four points behind third-place TCU (307-308-285– 900), which is ranked 19th in the nation.
The Ducks were again led by sophomore John Ellis, who continued his successful season with a tied-for-10th place finish with a score of 224. He was Oregon’s lowest scorer Saturday with a mark of 71.
Oregon was also paced by sophomore Chris Carnahan (227), who ended the weekend tied-for-19th among individuals, and teammates Brandon Harnden and Matt Genovese, who both ended up tied-for-24th. Aaron Byers rounded out the Ducks’ contingent with a tied-for-37th total score of 232.
“We had a very successful tournament,” Nosler said. “I think this could be a kick off for the start of some real good things to happen for this team.”
While the men won’t compete until March 5-6, the Oregon women’s golf team hits the fairways today at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson, Ariz. The three-day tournament marks the Ducks’ first action of the spring season.
“We are looking to lay a foundation for the remainder of the season,” women’s head coach Shannon Rouillard said. “This is a wonderful chance to see how this group will play together.”