Oregon senior co-captain John Ellis is a model of consistency.
Ellis, who usually finds himself among the leaders of the field, stands in second place after one completed round of the Alister MacKenzie Invitational, held Monday at the Meadow Club in Fairfax, Calif. The second round of play was suspended due to darkness and will be completed this morning before final-round play gets underway.
Ellis finished the first round at 6-under par after firing a career low 65, one stroke off the Oregon single-round record. His previous best was a round of 68 he carded as a sophomore and matched again as a junior. He trails California-Irvine’s Mike Lavery by one stroke.
The top 10 teams are separated by only 15 strokes. The Ducks stand in eighth place at 282, 10 strokes behind California-Irvine, which is ranked No. 12 in the nation according to the latest Golfweek/Sagarin poll. San Francisco is in second place at 273 and No. 8 UCLA is in third at 274. No. 13 Northwestern is in seventh at 281, while Oregon State (No. 40) is ninth at 285.
Fresno State senior Nick Watney, the No. 1-ranked individual in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin poll, is in a tie for eighth place after a 4-under 67. Northwestern junior Tom Johnson (No. 3) stands in a tie for 10th after a 3-under 68. Washington senior Conner Robbins (No. 4) and Stanford senior Jim Seki (No. 7) are tied for 59th after 4-over 75’s.
Ellis was the only Duck to crack the top 20. Junior Mike Sica stands in a tie for 32nd place after an even-par 71. Junior Jimmy White, making his fall debut, is tied for 37th after a 1-over 72. Senior co-captain Chris Carnahan and redshirt freshman Justin St. Clair are tied for 49th at 74.
The Ducks are looking for a ninth consecutive regular season top-10 finish, dating back to last season.
The Meadow Club course, designed by legendary golf course architect Alister MacKenzie, measures 6,585 yards. Some of MacKenzie’s most notable golf courses include Cypress Point in Pebble Beach, Calif., Royal Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia and Augusta National in Augusta, Ga. MacKenzie has been credited with designing over 100 courses.
The Ducks have one more tournament remaining this fall. They travel to Palm Desert, Calif., Nov. 4-5 for the Prestige at Palm Desert.