The No. 2 Oregon men’s golf team got off to an ominous start in Southern California on Monday, ending the first round in fifth place at the Gifford Collegiate Championship.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4387&SPID=246&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205325685&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
The Ducks shot a 7-over 362 for the day and stand 17 shots behind overall leader USC (10-under 345). No. 10 UCLA, No. 36 Virginia and No. 3 Washington rounded out the top five.@@http://www.goducks.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=4387&SPID=246&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205325685&DB_OEM_ID=500@@
Individually, Oregon was led by senior Eugene Wong, whose 5-under 66 was good for a tie of second place overall. The rest of Oregon’s players struggled, with senior Daniel Miernicki coming in at 2-over 73,while freshman Rak Cho and junior Robbie Ziegler tied for 31st overall with a 3-over 74. Seniors Andrew Vijarro (4-over 75) and Jack Paton (8-over 79) followed close behind.@@same@@
UCLA’s Patrick Cantlay grabbed the overall individual lead with a blistering 8-under 63, three shots ahead of Wong.
Second round play tees off Tuesday morning.