For the past few weeks, the No. 20 Oregon men’s golf team’s season has been like a scary movie: Most of the time it has been tranquil and normal, then all of a sudden a freak round will come out of nowhere to screw them up.
As the Ducks prepared for the Pacific-10 Conference Championships, which run today through Sunday at the Stanford Golf Course in Palo Alto, Calif., they wondered which team would show up this time.
Will it be the team that played solid golf to blow out the tough field and take first at the Western Intercollegiate April 3?
Or will it be the team that played terribly against an equally talented pool of teams, and finished 19th at the Thunderbird Invitational a week after that?
Or could it possibly be the team that stood in second-place after two rounds at the U.S. Intercollegiate last weekend before dropping to seventh on the final day?
However they may play, there is no better place for the Ducks to turn their momentum around than the Pac-10 Championships. Oregon has a history of playing well at the Pac-10s, from a fourth-place finish there last year to Pac-10 crowns in 1976 and ’77. A win or a strong showing would give the Ducks momentum heading into the rest of the postseason.
But it may be hard for any Pac-10 team to dethrone Arizona State. The Sun Devils have won the past six Pac-10 titles, and are ranked fifth in the country — highest of all the Pac-10 schools. The Devils are led by Eugene native and U.S. Amateur Champion Jeff Quinney, who is ranked 12th nationally.
The Sun Devils should be challenged by No. 6 Southern California and No. 18 Arizona. Oregon is the fourth-highest ranked Pac-10 team at No. 20, while No. 29 Washington, No. 36 California, No. 38 UCLA, No. 41 Stanford, Oregon State and Washington State round out the field.
“Top to bottom, the Pac-10 has become stronger and stronger,” Oregon head coach Steve Nosler said. “It’s really up for grabs.”
The Ducks got a chance to see the Pac-10 competition and the Stanford golf course last weekend at the U.S. Intercollegiate. Oregon played two rounds of sub-par golf before a disastrous final day dropped them to seventh.
The Ducks will be led at the Pac-10s by sophomore John Ellis, who is ranked 98th in the country and is the team’s stroke leader. Aaron Byers and Chris Carnahan are right behind Ellis, while Matt Genovese, Brandon Harnden and Mike Sica round out the team.
Oregon will start play today with two 18-hole rounds, then play 18-hole rounds Saturday and Sunday.