Eagles Aplenty in Final Round
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. – The No. 25 Oregon men's golf team sank four eagles in its final round of play to shoot even par and finish fourth at the 77th Western Intercollegiate to close out its regular season on Wednesday afternoon.
The Ducks got off to a blistering start as Greyson Leach, Greg Solhaug and Nate Stember each made eagle on the fourth hole, vaulting Oregon into pole position midway through its front nine. As the day wore on the field caught up with the Ducks, and at the end of the day UO finished in fourth with positions 2-7 separated by just five strokes.
"We came out on fire today," head coach Casey Martin said. "I was excited for the start because we needed that to give us a chance. Unfortunately we stalled out, but it was encouraging to see the guys play well. We are getting closer but we need to get over the hump soon."
Individually, four Ducks finished inside the top 25 led by Leach who finished eighth at 1 under thanks to a final round of 69. Nate Stember was at the heart of the Ducks' early run, making three birdies and an eagle in a span of five holes. After back-to-back rounds of 72, Stember shot the lowest round of the tournament for Oregon on Wednesday with a 3-under 67, jumping 19 spots up the leaderboard and finishing in a tie for 14th. Rounding out the top 25 for Oregon was Eric Doyle who shot a final-round 68 to finish tied for 21st as an individual, and Aiden Krafft who tied for 25th at 4 over overall.
How It Happened: Leach opened the day with six pars and an eagle on the fourth hole to go 2 under early, but a bogey on hole eight brought him back to 1 under at the turn. Two bogeys in three holes had the junior at even par with two holes remaining, but a birdie on 18 brought him back below the line to close out the tournament. Leach finished the tournament in sole possession of eight place, his second top-10 finish of the season.
Stember entered the day 4 over par but quickly flipped the script with three birdies and an eagle to put himself at 1 under overall after just seven holes. The fifth-year senior cooled off on the back nine with only one birdie, but finished with the lowest round of any Duck at the tournament with a 3-under 67. Doyle turned in an impressive final round as a double bogey on hole seven was the only blemish surrounded by four birdies. The individual shot 68 in the final round and finished the tournament 3 over.
Krafft was in a rhythm early as the sophomore shot three birdies to go 2 under through the first 10 holes. After four straight bogeys put a dent in his progress, Krafft responded with a birdie on 18 to finish the day 1 over and tie for 25th at 4 over overall. After two frustrating rounds to begin the tournament, Solhaug retaliated with a pair of eagles – first on hole four before finishing with another on the 18th – and a pair of birdies to shoot 2 under in the final round and earn a counting score for his team.
The Ducks finished above two ranked teams in No. 8 Arizona and No. 17 Texas. Oregon has two top-five finishes this spring and five this season overall.
Duck Scorecard
Western Intercollegiate
Pasatiempo Golf Club – Par 70
4. Oregon 356-359-350—1065 (+15)
8. Greyson Leach 68-72-69—209 (-1)
T14. Nate Stember 72-72-67—211 (+1)
T21. Eric Doyle (I) 72-73-68—213 (+3)
T25. Aiden Krafft 70-73-71—214 (+4)
T39. Greg Solhaug 74-75-68—217 (+7)
T39. Owen Avrit 72-68-77—217 (+7)
T70. Hugh Adams 75-74-75—224 (+14)
95. Thomas Jenkins Jr. (I) 77-D-D (N/A)
Notable: Leach's two eagles in the tournament give him 13 in his career, tied for eighth all-time in program history…Stember made 10 birdies in the tournament which gives him 483 in his career, third all-time in program history…Oregon led the field with five total eagles…Oregon led the field in par-five scoring, shooting 28 under on such holes…Leach led the field in par-5 scoring individually, going 8 under throughout the tournament.
Next Up: The Ducks head to Scottsdale, Ariz., for the Pac-12 Championship which takes place April 26-28.