Oregon captures Pac-12 Men's Golf Championship
BOULDER, COLO. – OREGON, behind the play of senior Wyndham Clark, captured its third title in a shortened 54-hole Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championship at Boulder Country Club in Boulder, Colo.
Clark, from nearby Denver, posted a 4-under (206) to earn Pac-12 medalist honors.
Clark became the first Duck to win the individual title since Brent Murray earned co-medalist honors in 1978. He becomes the fifth different Oregon player all-time to grab medalist honors, joining Craig Griswold (1970, 72), Peter Jacobsen (1974, 76), Phil Currie (1977) and Murray. Clark was the only golfer to play each of his three rounds under par has he shot 69-68-69 and posted a three-stroke victory over USC’s Rico Hoey and Stanford’s Franklin Huang who tied for second at 1-under (209).
“I was trying to stay present, have a lot of good positive images and stick to my plan and process,” said Clark. “I knew I was playing well and thought if I kept it in play and stayed within myself, I knew I had a chance to win.
“This is the biggest win of my career and winning it at home was pretty awesome,” added Clark. “I couldn’t think of a better place to win and it’s definitely something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”
Oregon coach Casey Martin commented on Clark’s performance, “Wyndham has just been a monster all year. He’s only had a couple of over-par rounds all year and came home with all the pressure here and played beautifully. I am so grateful that he is finishing his career here at Oregon.”
The Ducks held off a gallant charge by the STANFORD Cardinal who cut the deficit to one stroke several times during the third round. Oregon posted a team score of +15 (1065) to pick up its first Conference title since taking the Pac-8 North Division crown in 1977. The Cardinal were the only team to post a third round score under par (-8) and finished second at +18 (1068). USC and WASHINGTON tied for third at +32 (1082).
“It was a tough day and gritty performance,” said Martin. “Stanford played so great and made it really stressful on us. Fortunately we hung in there and made a few birdies coming in and got the victory. Truly special for us as it’s the first outright title for Oregon.“
On the conditions that canceled the second day of competition and made the third day questionable, Martin added, “I have to admit that when we came to the golf course there was so much snow, but everyone said it would melt. The crew did an amazing job and a lot of volunteers out there scooping snow. Finally it warmed up enough for where we could see the end. I was torn (on completing only two rounds) as it would have been official that we would have won after 36 holes, but it feels better to win after 54.”
There was a three-way tie for low freshman as Arizona State’s Chun An Yu, Oregon’s Norman Xiong and Washington’s Henry Lee finished the Championships at 6-over (216), which put them in a tie for 14th place.
Darkness suspended second round play on the opening day of the Championships, while four inches of snow Friday night canceled the second day of competition. Sunny skies and warming temperatures on Sunday aided the Boulder Country Club ground crew in preparing the course for resumption of second round play at 11:30 a.m. MT. The third and final round got underway with a shotgun start at 1:00 p.m. MT.
After the final six teams completed the second round on Sunday, Oregon (+15, 715) held a nine-stroke lead over Washington (+24, 724) in the team competition, with defending Pac-12 champion Stanford in third just 11 strokes off the lead (+26, 726). Clark completed the second round in solo position of first place with a 3-under (137). Washington’s Carl Yuan and USC’s Hoey were three strokes back at even par (140).
Inclement weather (snow) shortened the Championships from 72 holes to 54 holes. This is the first Pac-12 Men’s Golf Championships to have been shortened due to inclement weather.
Final Team Results (Par 70, 7,129 yards)
1. Oregon........................... 354-361-350 — 1065 (+15)
2. Stanford......................... 363-363-342 — 1068 (+18)
3. Washington.................... 355-369-358 — 1082 (+32)
4. USC............................... 366-365-351 — 1082 (+32)
5. UCLA............................. 363-372-353 — 1088 (+38)
6. Arizona State................. 362-374-356 — 1092 (+42)
7. Colorado........................ 368-367-360 — 1095 (+45)
8. California........................ 367-364-365 — 1096 (+46)
9. Arizona.......................... 368-373-366 — 1107 (+57)
10. Washington State......... 373-374-366 — 1113 (+63)
11. Oregon State................ 376-376-367 — 1119 (+69)
12. Utah............................. 379-377-366 — 1122 (+72)
Final Individual Results (Par 70, 7,129 yards)
1. Wyndham Clark, ORE.............. 69-68-69 —206 (-4)
T2. Rico Hoey, USC.................... 72-68-69 —209 (-1)
T2. Franklin Huang, STAN.......... 72-69-68 —209 (-1)
T4. Maverick McNealy, STAN..... 71-77-65 — 213 (+3)
T4. Carl Yuan, WASH.................. 68-72-73 — 213 (+3)
T6. Corey Pereira, WASH........... 69-75-70 — 214 (+4)
T6. Collin Morikawa, CAL............ 74-68-72 — 214 (+4)
T6. Ryan Gronlund, ORE............. 70-76-68 — 214 (+4)
T9. Brandon Wu, STAN............... 76-71-68 — 215 (+5)
T9. Tyler Collier, UCLA................ 70-75-70 — 215 (+5)
T9. Cole Madey, UCLA............... 72-73-70 — 215 (+5)
T9. Justin Suh, USC.................... 72-78-65 — 215 (+5)
T9. Isaiah Salinda, STAN............. 75-73-67 — 215 (+5)