On the chilly fairways of the Eugene Country Club, the Oregon women’s golf team was at times very cold on Monday.
But there were enough warm spots to keep the Ducks in the hunt for a Pacific-10 Conference title.
Meanwhile in scorching-hot Tempe, Ariz., the men’s golf team continued to improve against Pac-10 foes Monday, sitting in second place after 36 holes of play at the men’s Pac-10s.
The three-day women’s Pac-10 Championship started off with a bang, with everybody from basketball head coach Ernie Kent to the “Voice of the Ducks,” Jerry Allen, in attendance.
But when senior Anika Heuser put her first drive into a fairway bunker, it looked like it could be a long day for Oregon. Four groups later, senior Jerilyn White shot an arrow down the middle of the fairway and the Ducks had their answer — it would be neither a bad day, nor a good day. Just a somewhere-in-between day.
“I’m really glad we have two more days,” head coach Renee Baumgartner said. “I believe [the team] has a lot of potential and can play really well.”
The Ducks ended up in the middle of the pack after 18 holes, finishing sixth out of the 10 ranked teams. Heuser, despite her first drive and a double bogey on the 16th hole, finished at one-under par for the day, only a stroke behind tournament leader Amanda Moltke-Leth of UCLA.
“Obviously, a low number always helps the team score,” Heuser said. “But we are fortunate enough that we have five players that can all play well. Today was my day and tomorrow might be somebody else’s.”
The good news for the Ducks? Eliminate some of the first-round jitters and the team could have dramatically lower scores today and Wednesday. The bad news? The rest of the Pac-10 could come around, too.
In the latest MasterCard Collegiate Golf Rankings, the Ducks jumped up to No. 18 in the nation. However, the rankings show what a tough golf conference the Pac-10 is. Eight of the nation’s top 25 golfers — including No. 1 Jenna Daniels of Arizona and No. 2 Miriam Nagl of Arizona State — are competing, and so are seven of the nation’s top 25 teams.
Some of those players and teams aren’t yet performing up to par. No. 4 Arizona State holds down the eighth spot, 20 strokes behind tournament leader Southern California. Washington, Oregon State and Washington State, all ranked, also fared poorly yesterday.
The first tee time for the Ducks tomorrow is 10:06 a.m.
The Oregon men hold second place after a round at their Pac-10 Championships at Karsten Golf Course. Oregon trails No. 4 Arizona State by an almost-insurmountable 17 strokes, but head coach Steve Nosler is happy about his team’s two under-par rounds.
“It’s been a relaxing round, just because [the whole team] is still in it,” Nosler said, sounding relieved by his team’s performance.
Unlike the women, the men played 36 holes today in 95-degree weather and will play 36 more during the next two days.
Senior co-captain Andrew Tredway and freshman Chris Carnahan lead the Ducks in Arizona. Both shot six-under par 138s to finish tied for fourth.
But the real story for Oregon has been team play. All six golfers are in the top 40, but more importantly there have been no bad rounds by any of the Ducks.
“The kids know what they’re here for,” Nosler said, presumably talking about a Pac-10 title. “They played well.”