It was a whirlwind fall for the Oregon men’s golf team.
Four first place finishes, multiple career best performances and a NCAA record round at the Ka’anapali Golf Course put the Ducks in unchartered territory.
Oregon currently sits at No. 1 in the GCAA Coaches Poll, No. 3 in Golfweek’s team rankings and No. 2 in Golfstat’s Relative Rankings, but is the only remaining undefeated team in college golf at 44-0-2.
“While Illinois and Florida State had great fall seasons and are ranked higher than Oregon, No. 3 in Golfweek’s rankings, the Ducks did something the Illini and Seminoles didn’t – they went undefeated,” Golfweek assistant editor Brentley Romine said. “Sure, you could argue Illinois had the best victory (Olympia Fields) and two of Oregon’s wins were shared titles, but you can’t ignore the fact that no one beat the Ducks this fall.”
Multiple Golfweek @@link?@@ analysts called Oregon the best team of the fall. Others placed Illinois higher on their lists because of its unparalleled arsenal of talented golfers. The Illini boast five top-100 golfers, led by No. 4 Charlie Danielson. Oregon has just three, with Thomas Lim leading the way for the Ducks at No. 19.
The Illini may have the headliners, but Oregon has gotten comparable contributions from all over its roster. The Ducks’ unique mix of experienced players and talented newcomers makes the team deep and dangerous.
Lim, a sophomore who led the Ducks’ third round charge in last year’s NCAA championships, won the Nike Golf Invitational in October and finished third at the Patriot All-America last week.
Brandon McIver, a junior, has already played in the U.S. Open, while junior Zach Foushee proved he could compete alongside the very best in college golf in last year’s NCAA regional.
Freshmen Hurly Long and Aaron Wise have made their mark this season as well.
“We don’t really view them as freshmen,” McIver said. “They’re both really mature in their golf game. They’re meshing well with everyone else and their play has been a huge part of our success so far this season.”
Wise captured the individual title at Ka’anapali despite having his score dropped from the NCAA record round, while Long won a critical playoff hole against Pac-12 rival USC at the Itani Homes Collegiate.
With all the pieces in place, Oregon’s undefeated fall won’t mean much if the Ducks don’t make it to match play at the NCAA championship. But head coach Casey Martin wants his team to maintain a one hole at a time mentality.
“Our goal is to do the individual stuff; get as good as you can, keep trying to improve every week and learn and challenge yourself, the results will take care of themselves,” Martin said.
Oregon has seven events, including a return to Hawaii and several trips to California remaining, before postseason play begins. It will be tested by Pac-12 foes No. 4 UCLA and No. 14 Stanford over that stretch, both of which feature top 25 golfers.
“It helps to know that we can play with the best teams,” Martin said. “Those teams are always considered to be some of the elite college teams and we’re right there with them.”
Follow Josh Schlichter on Twitter @joshschlichter