The Oregon men’s golf team finished with an exceptional opening round at the Pacific-10 Championships on Monday.
The problem was, they still had another round to play.
By the time darkness forced players off the par-72, 7,412-yard Gallery at Dove Mountain Course in Marana, Ariz., the Ducks had given back much of the progress they made by firing a second round 384 — 16 strokes higher than their first round.
The Ducks finished the day with a 752 total, good enough for a sixth place finish.
For Oregon, it was a pair of sophomores who led the way. Kyle Johnson carded a solid 73-73-146, good for a tie for 12th. Justin St. Clair, playing the best golf of the spring for the Ducks, continued that trend by posting a 73-74-147 to finish in a tie for 16th.
Freshman Matt Ma fired the lowest round by a Duck with his opening round even par 72. Included with that 72 was an eagle on the 550-yard par-5 16th. After a lengthy drive, Ma struck a four iron to within five feet of the hole and drained the relatively easy putt for eagle. Ma slipped in the second round, falling from 11th to a tie for 33rd with his 8-over 80.
Sophomore Gregg LaVoie and senior Mike Sica also could not extend their good fortunes from the first round. Sica, known for his strong play in the spring, fired a second round 82, dropping into a tie for 50th with a two-round total of 158. LaVoie fell out of the top 20 with a 77 in the second round, leaving him with a 74-77-151 and in a tie for 27th.
Freshman Dustin Pewarchuk struggled with a 79-80-159 to finish tied for 53rd.
Individually, Washington’s Brock Mackenzie sits atop the leaderboard at 9-under par. The senior and Hogan Award finalist shot a 67-68-135 to finish four strokes ahead of a trio of players — Arizona’s Henry Liaw and Chris Nallen and Arizona State’s Chez Reavie — all of whom are tied for second at 5-under par 139.
“I came out really well today,” Reavie said. “My putting was pretty bad, but other than that I had no mistakes. The back nine was the most difficult for me. Like I said, my putter just wasn’t working. It was all about the putting today, and that wasn’t working for me.”
Host school Arizona and rival Arizona State finished tied for first with identical even par 357-363-720s. Defending champion UCLA is 12 strokes back, while Washington and Southern California sit fourth and fifth, respectively.
“‘Solid’ is the word I’d use to describe us today,” Arizona State head coach Randy Lein said. “We played great golf on a difficult golf course. But we are used to desert golf and the surroundings.”
Only a handful of players were unable to finish their second rounds and will tee off at 7 a.m. today with the third following immediately afterward.

Women’s golf headed to NCAA Regionals
For the first time since 2001, the Ducks are going to the postseason.
Coming off their first multiple win season since 1996, the Ducks earned the No. 10 seed for next week’s NCAA West Regional at Stanford.
“This is really a reward for the hard work these women have put in the last two seasons,” Oregon head coach Shannon Rouillard said. “It’s a great feeling to get back to regionals. At the same time, we’re not satisfied just to make it. The goal now is to advance.”
The top eight teams in the regional will advance to the NCAA Championships in Auburn, Ala. None of the current Ducks has ever been in postseason play, but they should be helped by the fact that the regionals are held at the Stanford Golf Course, where they have already played this year.