No. 12 Oregon women’s golf finished the PING/ASU Invitational at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix, AZ in 11th place, which was sixth best out of the nine Pac-12 teams competing. 

No. 11 Northwestern would go on to win the competition, combining for a total score of 852 (-11). 

Oregon managed to finish in the top half, breaking to four strokes clear of No. 6 USC, who the Ducks were previously tied with. 

In the final round, Minori Nagano shot below par for the third time in the three-round tournament. Nagano led the squad the whole way through this tournament, and with a one-under (71) performance on the final day, she secured a tie for fourth out of the 93 golfers. 

Nagano stayed par-or-better through her front nine with two birdies. She ultimately lost out on the chance for a top spot on the leaderboard due to her two bogeys on her back nine. 

Nonetheless, this was a very impressive performance all weekend from Nagano, who took a major step up in the absence of the team’s star – Kiara Romero. 

Ching-Tzu Chen had another positive day on the course, which started with a birdie on her first hole. She shot three bogeys and one more birdie before the end of play on Saturday, which brought her to a one-over (73) on the day. 

After a lackluster opening day performance, Chen placed second-highest of any Duck – tied for 37th. 

Anika Varma endured a wild final round in Phoenix, as she shot four birdies and seven bogeys, which totaled for a three-over (75). 

Varma finished the front nine even after two birdies and two bogeys, but after her 11th hole, she would not par again. 

Varma posted five bogeys and two birdies on the last seven holes, ending a rollercoaster of a day to end her weekend in Phoenix. She finished the competition tied for 43rd, which is still a top-half finish and something for Varma to build off as the season moves forward. 

Ting-Hsuan Huang failed to birdie in the final round, which capped off a weekend where she really was not at her best. 

Huang shot four bogeys in the final round, which brought her score to a four-over (76) – her second 76 of the weekend. The freshman failed to demonstrate her ability to stay consistent and get birdies, which doomed her to a tie for 74th after it was all said and done. 

Ashleigh Park had the second-best score on the team in the first round, but her disastrous second round put her far behind the chase for the top. 

Her fortune would not improve in the final round, as she would immediately see after she double-bogeyed the first hole. Along with the double, Park would go on to shoot a triple-bogey, as well as four regular bogeys. 

Park finished the weekend with her worst score of the trip – a seven-over (79). She dropped 16 spots on the final day and placed in 78th for the weekend. 

Final Scorecard: Final Round (Par), Total (Par), Place in standings

Nagano: 71 (-1), 211 (-5), T-4th

Chen: 73 (+1), 219 (+3), T-37th

Varma: 75 (+3), 221 (+5), T-43rd

Huang: 76 (+4), 227 (+11), T-74th

Park: 79 (+7), 228 (+12), 78th

Oregon: 295 (+7), 873 (+9), 11th

Without the spark that Romero brings, it would have been very difficult for the Ducks to make a major climb to the top of the leaderboard as a team. 

However, the brilliance of Nagano gave Oregon life and mitigated what could have been a much worse situation given how the rest of the team performed. 

Nagano saved the Ducks from what would have surely been a much worse finish, where they would have been in the bottom half.

She gave her squad an excellent lift when they needed it most, and Romero doesn’t have a major mess to clean up when she gets back to Eugene. Nagano will also hope to continue her dominance going forward, as she is finding her rhythm at the perfect time of the season. 

Finishing sixth best out of the Pac-12 teams participating is not where the Ducks wanted to be at this point in the season. With the conference championships on the horizon, it is important that Oregon finds a way to get all of its pieces to perform at the highest level. 

While Varma and Chen showed flashes, they didn’t execute efficiently enough to make a splash this weekend. Oregon has one more chance before the conference championship to show its capabilities – and this time with the help of Romero. 

The Ducks move on and return to action from April 8-10 at the Silverado Showdown at Silverado Country Club in Napa, CA.