The first day of the Ducks’ last fall tournament did not go well. The Oregon men’s golf team finished tied for last place in the 10-team Gifford Collegiate on Monday and are 31 strokes off the lead.
The Ducks did improve from round one to round two, shooting a 14-over par 294 to start the day and an 8-over 288 to end it. However, their second round at Pelican Hill Resort was actually worse compared to the rest of the field. They finished the first round in seventh place, but their second-round 288 was actually the worst score in the second round, dropping them to a last-place tie with Tennessee.
The biggest issue for the Ducks on Monday at the Newport Beach, Calif., golf resort was consistency. All five Oregon golfers shot 73 (+3) or better in one of their two rounds, but other than Zach Foushee, they all had a round in the high 70s.
The sophomore Foushee led the Ducks with an overall score of 3-over, tying him for 25th among the 56 golfers in the tournament. He shot a 1-over 71 in the first round and followed it up with a 2-over 72.
Behind Foushee were sophomore Sulman Raza and Brandon Baumgarten, who are currently tied for 39th and had similar rounds on Monday.
Raza shot the worst Oregon round of the day in round one with a 9-over 79. Only three other golfers in the tournament matched that score or shot worse in either round. Raza bounced back nicely in round two, though, shooting 10 strokes better than round one and netting the Ducks’ only under-par round of the day.
Baumgarten shot a 8-over 78 in round one but he, like Raza, rebounded in round two, shooting an even-par 70.
Tied for 48th overall and last on the Ducks were sophomore Brandon McIver and freshman Thomas Lim.
McIver finished round one with a 3-over 73 but unlike Raza and Baumgarten, he regressed in the second round, shooting a 7-over 77.
Lim’s day was similar to McIver’s. The freshman shot a 72 in round one before struggling to a second-round 78.
Unfortunately for the Ducks, even sixth place looks out of reach as they head into their third and final round on Tuesday. They currently sit 18 strokes behind sixth-place UCLA.
The leader after two rounds is — fittingly — Alabama, who are the top-ranked team in the nation. The rest of the standings can be found here.
Follow Victor Flores on Twitter @vflores415