Clark leads Oregon to Win at Arizona Intercollegiate
Wyndham Clark (Oregon Athletics Photo)
TUCSON, Ariz. (January 24, 2017) -- The defending National Champion Oregon golf team held off Pepperdine by eleven strokes to win the Arizona Intercollegiate – the first tournament of the spring season – on Tuesday.
The Ducks shot a 5-over 857 (293-288-276) for the event at the par-71, 7,262 yard Sewailo Golf Club, giving Oregon its first win of the 2016-17 season.
Oregon's redshirt senior Wyndham Clark fired a final-round 68 to capture medalist honors at 4-under par for the two day 54-hole tournament, one shot better than Washington's Carl Yuan and New Mexico's Andre Garcia.
All 18 teams in the competition had to finish their second rounds early Tuesday morning as darkness forced the suspension of the last few holes on Monday. Oregon was leading Cal Berkeley by four shots at the time of suspension but finished the second round seven ahead of Pepperdine and nine ahead of Cal.
With conditions much improved in the final round, Oregon posted four rounds at even-par or better to close out the field with a tournament low 276. Freshman Norman Xiong had a big day with a 4-under 67 to finish T4 while Ryan Gronlund bounced back from a tough second round to shoot a 1-under 70.
Pepperdine finished second at 16-over 869 (294-296-279) led by a final-round 69 by their top player, Sahith Theegala.
Washington took over 20 shots off their first and second round totals to post 21-over 873 (299-298-276). Sophomore Carl Yuan birdied four out of his last five holes to shoot 65 for a runner-up finish. Senior Corey Pereira posted a bogey-free 67 to bounce back from a difficult second round.
After failing to record a top-three in the fall, the Oregon golf team is back on track to start the spring. Their leader Wyndham Clark has been on a tear since transferring from Oklahoma State in the fall.
His fall season included a runner-up to Maverick McNealy at the Nike Invitational, a tied third place finish at the Paintbrush Invitational, and a win over Western Amateur champion Dylan Meyer at the East Lake Cup. He is currently ranked as the number one college golfer in the country by Golfstat.
ABOUT THE
Arizona Thunderbirds Intercollegiate
54 hole men's college tournament hosted by the
University of Arizona. Team and individual
competitions, with the best four of five rounds each
day
comprising the team score.
View Complete Tournament Information