Ducks Set for Northwest Classic
03/20/16 | Men's Golf
EUGENE – The Oregon men's golf team will make the short trip to Camby, Ore., this week to compete at the Northwest Classic at the par-72, 6,976-yard Willamette Valley Country Club. The two-day event, set to begin on Monday, will be the first of two tournaments this week for the Ducks, as they will compete at The Goodwin in Stanford, Calif., which is scheduled to tee off on Thursday.
Host: Oregon State
Course: Willamette Valley Country Club
Course Info: Par-72, 6,976 yards
Tee Time: TBA
Duck Lineup: Aaron Wise, Zach Foushee, Brandon McIver, Sulman Raza, Edwin Yi
Individuals: Sam Foust, Nigel Lett, Max Carter
THE FIELD
The Airstream Adventures Northwest Classic features host Oregon State, UNLV, Cal Poly, Gonzaga, St. Mary's, Washington State, Fresno State, Seattle, Utah, Wisconsin, San Diego, UT-Rio Grande Valley and Missouri-Kansas City.
ABOUT THE DUCKS
The Ducks are coming off a 10th-place finish at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas, Nev., earlier this month to follow a fourth-place finish at the Southwestern Jones Invitational, their fourth top-five finish in seven tries this season. Oregon turned in a third-place finish at the Amer Ari Invitational in February, where sophomore Aaron Wise picked up his second win of the season and fourth win of his career. Oregon has one win under its belt from a successful appearance at the Husky Invitational last fall where the Ducks took home a share of the tournament title for a second consecutive season. Oregon finished third at The Jackrabbit behind a strong performance from active program tournament wins leader Aaron Wise that saw the sophomore earn co-medalist honors. The Ducks wrapped up the fall season with 10th and sixth place finishes at the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational and The Gifford, respectively.
Oregon returns nine players from a successful 2014-15 campaign that saw the team record five tournament wins, tying them for second overall on the program single-season wins list. The Ducks wrapped up the 2015 season at the NCAA Championships in Bradenton, Fla., where they finished 23rd overall. The Ducks are led by 10th-year head coach Casey Martin and third-year assistant coach Van Williams.
LAST TIME OUT
The Oregon men's golf team carded the low round of the day in their final round at the Southern Highlands Collegiate to finish in 10th at the par-72, 7,374-yard Southern Highlands Golf Club. Junior Sulman Raza finished in third.
Oregon was the only team in the 15-team field to card a subpar round on the event's final day, firing a 1-under 287 to finish the event in 10th at 24-over. USC took home the team title at 5-over, finishing four strokes ahead of runner-up Florida and 10 strokes ahead of third-place Oklahoma.
Sulman Raza bested his 3-under 69 in Tuesday's second round with a 68 on Wednesday, dropping in five birdies over the final nine holes to wrap up an impressive tournament. Raza finished the three-day event at 2-under for the week in a tie for third. The Eugene native's finish marks his highest of the year and second top-five finish this season.
Zach Foushee finished in a tie for 27th after carding a 1-over 73 in his final round. The Duck senior managed a birdie on the par-5 ninth to finish off the day with his best round of the week. Foushee turned in a pair of 75's over the first two days at the event, and finished with a three-round tally of 7-over 223.
Aaron Wise shot a 2-over 74 in his final round to finish the event in a tie for 42nd at 9-over.
Senior Brandon McIver also recorded his top score of the week Wednesday, posting an even-par 72. After getting to the turn at 3-over for the day, McIver converted three birdies on the back nine to finish at 11-over for the tournament. The senior finished in 51st.
Freshman Edwin Yi struggled in the final round of action, turning in an 82 on Wednesday to finish in 74th at 22-over.
PAC-12 GOLFER OF THE MONTH
Oregon sophomore Aaron Wise has been named Pac-12 Men's Golfer of the Month for February, the conference announced earlier this month.
Wise posted an average score of 69.67 over the month of February to lead the Ducks to a tie for a third-place finish at the Amer Ari Invitational and a fourth-place finish at the Southwestern Jones Invitational. He won his second tournament of the season and fourth of his career at the Amer Ari Invitational with a 16-under 200 (69-67-64). After only 19 career tournaments, Wise is the second Duck in program history to medal four times in his collegiate career.
The honor marks his second Pac-12 Golfer of the Month reecognition for Wise this season, as he gained the accolade for the month of September as well. In six rounds of play in September, Wise posted five rounds under par and one round at even par.
“WISE BY NAME AND NATURE”
Oregon golf sophomore Aaron Wise won the Australian Master of the Amateurs at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club in January. Wise posted a four-round tally of 283 at the event to finish at 5-under for the week, two strokes better than runner-up Jonathan Thomson from the United Kingdom.
The win is the latest in a string of strong performances on the amateur circuit from the Lake Elsinore, Calif., native in last several months. Wise, the eighth-ranked amateur in the world, took home the title at the Pacific Coast Amateur last July and tallied second-place finishes at the Western Amateur and SCGA Amateur Championship.
WINNING WISE
Much like head coach Casey Martin expressed after Aaron Wise's third-place finish at the season-opening Husky Invitational, it seems the sophomore has developed into an elite player in the collegiate ranks. With his wins at the Jackrabbit last fall and the Amer Ari Invitational last month, Wise became the second player in Oregon history to win two individual titles in the same season (Daniel Miernicki – 2009-10, 2011-12) and the second player to win four total in his career. With his next win, Wise will tie Miernicki's record of five.
WISE NAMED TO HOGAN AWARD WATCH LIST
Oregon men's golf sophomore Aaron Wise was one of 25 collegiate golfers named to the 2016 Ben Hogan Award Watch List, as announced by the Colonial Country Club, the Friends of Golf (FOG) and the Golf Coaches Association of America earlier this month.
The most prestigious award in men's college golf, The Ben Hogan Award is issued annually to the top men's college golfer taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the past 12 months. The Ben Hogan Award Selection Committee is comprised of leaders in professional, amateur and collegiate golf.
The list of 10 semifinalists will be unveiled on Wednesday, April 13. On Tuesday, May 3, that group will be cut to three finalists, who will attend a banquet at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth on Monday, May 23, prior to the start of the PGA TOUR's Colonial National Invitation Tournament, where the winner will be named.
2016 NCAA GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS HEADED FOR EUGENE
The University of Oregon was selected to host the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's and Women's Golf Championships, the NCAA announced on Jan. 14, 2015. The tournament will be played at Eugene Country Club, with the women's championships held May 20-25 and the men's from May 27-June 1. This marks the first time Oregon will host both the men's and women's NCAA golf championships in the same year.
ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
The Ducks' 2014-15 season was a historic one as the team racked up five tournament victories, tying it for second overall on the all-time program wins list with the 2009-10 team. The 2011-12 team remains the winningest team in Oregon men's golf history with seven tournament wins. The 2014-15 season also saw the Ducks win the most consecutive team championships as they took home four-straight victories at the Husky Invitational, Itani Homes Collegiate, Nike Golf Collegiate Invite and Ka'anapali Classic.
LOOKING FORWARD
After this week's appearance at the Northwest Classic, Oregon will head to Stanford, Calif., to compete at the Goodwin, which is set to begin this Thursday.
Players Mentioned
