The Oregon men’s golf team put together their best performance of the season, finishing in third place at The Prestige in La Quinta, California, in a weather-shortened two-day tournament that concluded on Wednesday.
Norman Xiong led the team with a 6-under par, good for second place in the tournament and his 10th top-10 finish of his career. He finished one shot behind the event medalist Clay Feagler of Pepperdine.
Ryan Gronlund joined Xiong in the top 10, the sixth of his career. His 1-over score put him tied for 10th. Edwin Yi finished 3-over par. Freshman Donald Kay, who finished with the best score of the team in the last tournament, had the fourth best score of the team and finished the event at 6-over par. His over-par finish snapped his streak of four consecutive under-par rounds. Kevin Geniza recorded an 8-over par to round out Oregon’s starting five lineup.
High winds in the area cancelled play on Monday, meaning the teams played just two rounds of the scheduled three-round tournament.
The Ducks entered Wednesday’s second round tied with the No. 1 Oklahoma State Cowboys for first place, but Oregon’s 4-over par on day two meant they had to settle for the third-place finish. The Cowboys shot an even score in round two and won the event by one stroke over Pepperdine.
Oregon was one of four Pac-12 teams to finish in the top-ten in this event. Stanford (+5) finished fifth, USC (+21) finished tied for eighth and a second Stanford team (+28) finished in a tie for 10th.
The Ducks are still looking for their first team win of the season but will have the benefit of staying in-state for the next tournament, the Bandon Dunes Championships held in Bandon, Oregon. The three-day tournament tees off on March 11.
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