The Oregon men’s golf team opens its fall season Monday, sending a mixture of youth and experience to the two-day Windon Memorial
Classic at the Glen View Club in Glenview, Ill.
Two seniors and three freshmen represent the Ducks, one of three teams from the West Coast among the 12 in the field. Traditional powers Duke, Louisiana State and Oklahoma State stand in the way of the Ducks. Florida State, Georgia Southern, Houston, Kent State, North Florida, Stanford, California-Davis and host Northwestern round out the field.
This is the Ducks’ first appearance in the Windon Memorial Classic, which has seen the talent of such golfers as Tiger Woods and Casey Martin.
“It’s going to be great to start the season,” Oregon head coach Steve Nosler said. “The field looks pretty strong, and I think it’s interesting to play some teams that we don’t usually see on a completely different venue from what we’re accustomed to.”
Senior co-captains John Ellis and Chris Carnahan will hold the top two spots for the Ducks. Ellis, a two-time All-Pacific-10 Conference selection who qualified for match play at the U.S. Amateur, finished last season with a stroke average of 72.7. Carnahan is a three-time All-Pac-10 selection and finished last season averaging 73.4 strokes.
Redshirt freshmen Kyle Johnson and Chris Dukeminier, along with true freshman Gregg LaVoie, round out the Oregon quintet. Despite having seven freshmen on the roster, the emergence of three for the season opener came as a surprise to Nosler.
“It’s unusual to have three freshmen playing in a season opener, but that’s who came out on top in qualifying, and they deserve a chance to show what they can do,”Nosler said.
The members of the team who will not be in competition this weekend include juniors Mike Sica and Jimmy White, and freshmen Matt Amen, Matt Ma, Dustin Pewarchuk and Justin St. Clair.
Oklahoma won the Windon Memorial in 2000, firing a course record 868. Individual honors went to Southern California’s Hunter Mahan, who finished with a 213. Last year’s tournament was not contested because Northwestern hosted the NCAA Championships.
Teams will play 36 holes on Monday and 18 on Tuesday.