After 36 holes of play at the Western Intercollegiate in Santa Cruz, Calif., the Oregon men’s golf team is already out of contention for a first place finish.
They are in good company. Every member of the 20-team field besides No. 7 Fresno State, the leader by 12 strokes ahead of second-place Kansas, is out of the running for the victory two-thirds of the way through the tournament.
However, the race is still on for second place, and the Ducks are in the thick of it. Although in fifth place, Oregon is only seven strokes behind Kansas and two strokes behind fourth place Long Beach State with 18 holes to play.
Head coach Steve Nosler has high hopes that his team will move up in the final round.
“The way we’re playing now, we could move up some spots,” Nosler said. “I think we’ll play really well.”
The Ducks are looking for their third straight top-5 finish.
Oregon is hoping to ride on the coattails of strong performances by two seniors and a redshirt freshman. Senior co-captains Ryan Lavoie (139, one-under) and Andrew Tredway (143, three-over) have been leading the team in scoring all year, but redshirt freshman Chris Carnahan (141, one-over) is the surprise of the Ducks’ top three.
Carnahan had an impressive fall season, playing in all of Oregon’s tournaments and averaging close to two-over par a round. Nosler has since rotated the Albany native in and out of the lineup, and Carnahan has not been as consistent. If Carnahan can hold onto tenth place, it will be his best performance since an eighth place finish at the Pepperdine Invitational in October.
The team will try to stay consistent on the final day of the tournament, Nosler said. The coach feels his team has “come around” and that they “have the maturity to play at this level.”
The Ducks are eying postseason play, which begins at the Pacific-10 Championships later this month.
Oregon is preparing for the Pac-10’s by taking on ranked teams and conference foes alike at tournaments such as the Western Intercollegiate. The Ducks currently lead the group of Pac-10 teams at the Western, which includes No. 14 Stanford, No. 16 Southern California, California, Washington and Oregon State.
The Western Intercollegiate concludes today with the final 18-hole round.