After a remarkable leap during the second round at the Chevron Silverado Showdown at Silverado Resort and Spa in Napa, California, No. 16 Oregon women’s golf started the final round carrying that same rhythm.
However, as Wednesday’s golf unfolded, the Ducks were outmatched by teams that they previously had an advantage over. Both No. 4 UCLA and No. 25 California jumped ahead of Oregon on the final day.
The Ducks set themselves up for a top eight finish going into Wednesday, but a three stroke drop off from Tuesday’s card meant that Oregon dropped three spots to 10th out of 16 teams.
The tournament was won by the tie of No. 9 USC and No. 11 Northwestern, and the individual medal was shared between Kajsa Arwefjall from San Jose State and Catherine Park from USC.
Even after a rocky first round, the country’s No. 3 ranked golfer Kiara Romero improved as the competition went on. She started with a three-over (75) on Monday, but picked it up in the second round with an even (72).
Romero started the final round by shooting two birdies in a row on her third and fourth holes, which set her up at two-under after four holes. The rest of her front nine included two bogeys, which brought her back to even on the front (36).
Romero’s back nine played out very similarly, as she shot the same score as she did to open the round. Two more birdies and two bogeys closed out her Wednesday, which carded her another even (72).
After taking time off from the team due to the Augusta Junior Nationals, Romero showed resilience to work her way back to being the best golfer in the Oregon lineup.
The star freshman climbed the leaderboard each day, including seven spots on the final day to tie her at 18th out of the 88 golfers.
It was important that Romero continued to cement herself as the top dog (or Duck) because of her uniquely high ceiling and elite talent.
Ching-Tzu Chen opened the tournament with an impressive one-under (71), but it ended up being her best performance in Napa. Chen finished the last two rounds with a two-over (74) and dropped from 11th to tied for 18th at the close.
Chen had a very mediocre final round for her standards, as she shot five bogeys and three birdies for the round. Her lackluster final two days weren’t enough to drop her out of the top 25, but it did send her to 18th.
Looking forward to the Pac-12 championship, Chen needs to find that consistency over multiple rounds to prove herself as Romero’s second fiddle. Her first round should be repeated at least once over a three-round competition in order to guarantee success.
Oregon’s worst performer of the first day was Ting-Hsuan Huang with a seven-over (79), which placed her near the bottom of the standings. Huang came back with a one-under (71) in the second round, which propelled her into the top half of the leaderboard.
To open the final day in Napa, Huang shot two birdies and a bogey on the front nine, which meant she was one-under (35) as she made the turn.
After the turn, she failed to birdie again, and with her three bogeys her score climbed up to a two-over (74). Huang finished the weekend where she finished the second round – tied for 43rd.
Given how her opening day went, the rest of the round proved that Huang can afford flukes in some competitions. If she carries this momentum into the Pac-12 championship, Huang will have no trouble making her mark in Pullman.
Minori Nagano’s three days in Napa started off positively with a one-over (73), which had her safely in the top 25.
Nagano followed that up with a five-over (77) and a four-over (76) on Wednesday.
On the final day, Nagano dropped 13 places down to 56th. Her score was a result of a seven bogey, three birdie outing.
As was the theme of the weekend for Nagano, she struggled to find consistency after Monday, which inevitably led to her finishing in the bottom half of the leaderboard.
Nagano has been a mixed bag throughout the season, so it will be a welcome sight if she were to bring back her solid play for the conference championship.
Anika Varma’s disaster weekend continued on Wednesday, as she shot her third-straight six-over (78). It can be argued that Varma’s last round was her worst, as it was the only one of the competition where she didn’t have any birdies.
Varma shot four bogeys and one double-bogey, which meant that she carded a double-bogey in each of the three rounds – with two on the second day. Four double-bogeys in three rounds is a tremendous negative for a golfer who has seen some impressive outings this season.
Her competition-to-forget ended with Varma placed tied for 76th.
The Varma that showed up to the PING/ASU Invitational is the Varma that needs to show up in Pullman if she and the team are to perform to their peak potential.
The only individual golfer from Oregon of real note in Napa was Karen Tsuru. In the first two rounds, Tsuru shot two one-over (73)’s and followed that up with a two-over (74) on Wednesday.
Tsuru shot three bogeys and one birdie on the final day, which dropped her two spots to tied for 23rd. Her score was good enough to keep her in the top 25, which was where she sat the whole competition.
Tsuru made an incredible impression in her first competition this season, which may secure her a spot in the lineup for the Pac-12 championship.
The two other individuals – Sonja Tang and Baylee Hammericksen – never found rhythm throughout the competition.
Tang shot a 77-78-76, which placed her tied for 71st, while Hammericksen shot a 80-80-73 and finished in 75th.
Final Scorecard: Final round score (Par), Weekend score (Par), Place in rankings
Romero: 72 (E), 219 (+3), T-18th
Chen: 74 (+2), 219 (+3), T-18th
Tsuru (i): 74 (+2), 220 (+4), T-23rd
Huang: 74 (+2), 224 (+8), T-43rd
Nagano: 76 (+4), 226 (+10), 56th
Tang (i): 76 (+4), 231 (+15), T-71st
Hammericksen (i): 73 (+1), 233 (+17), 75th
Varma: 78 (+6), 234 (+18), T-76th
Oregon: 296 (+8), 887 (+23), 10th out of 16 schools
With the Pac-12 championship on the horizon, the Ducks wanted to match up a lot better with their conference foes in Napa.
After Tuesday’s round, Oregon was third-best out of the eight Pac-12 schools, but a lackluster final round saw them get leaped by both UCLA and Cal.
Oregon will be able to get this back when it heads to Palouse Ridge Golf Club in Pullman, Washington for the Pac-12 championship on April 21-23.
