University of Oregon
Willamette Valley Golf Club
Raza Medals, Leads Ducks to Second-Place Finish at Northwest Classic
03/23/16 | Men's Golf
CANBY, Ore. – Junior Sulman Raza earned his first collegiate victory Tuesday at the Airstream Adventures Northwest Classic to lead the Ducks to a second-place finish at the par-72, 6,975-yard Willamette Valley Country Club.
How It Happened: Raza, junior Nigel Lett and sophomore Aaron Wise each turned in stellar performances at the Northwest Classic to finish first, second and third, respectively. Collectively, the Ducks followed up a season-low 279 in their first round with scores of 284 and 287 for a 14-under total to finish second behind UNLV.
Raza converted four birdies to no bogeys in his final round Tuesday to win by a comfortable four strokes and pick up his first collegiate medalist honor. After a 1-under 71 in the event's opening round, Raza wrapped up his second round Tuesday morning with a season-low 67 after a suspension of play for darkness Monday evening.
The junior is has had an impressive month, coming off a third-place finish at the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas. Raza has recorded three top-five finishes this season, the first being a fifth place finish at the season-opening Husky Invitational in September.
Competing as an individual, Nigel Lett finished off the Northwest Classic with a season-best 4-under 68 to finish in second at 6-under. Lett dropped in three birdies and an eagle on the par-4 12th Tuesday to wrap up his third appearance of the year with his highest collegiate finish to date.
Wise fired a 1-over 73 Tuesday afternoon to record his fourth top-three finish of the season with a 6-under 67-71-73. The Lake Elsinore, Calif., native was tied with Raza in the top spot on the leaderboard for much of the day after starting his round off with birdies on the third and sixth holes, but four bogeys to only one birdie over the final 12 holes allowed Raza to create separation between the two Ducks.
Senior Zach Foushee also posted a 73 Tuesday afternoon to finish with in a tie for 11th with a 54-hole tally of 1-under 215 (68-74-73). The senior's performance marks his fifth top-20 finish of the season.
Freshman Edwin Yi wrapped up the weekend in a tie for 22nd after a final-round 73 for a 3-over 219 (74-72-73) total.
After rounds of 73 and 75 to open the tournament, senior Brandon McIver struggled on Tuesday with a 7-over 79 to finish in a tie for 53rd at 11-over.
Competing as an individual Max Carter finished in a tie for 46th in his first appearance of the season after a solid 71 in his final round. Freshman Sam Foust finished in 86th, also competing as an individual.
Quotable – Head Coach Casey Martin: “The kids battled hard and gave it their all. We just kind of ran out of steam at the end. We were kind of making a run and were nip and tuck with UNLV before they broke away, but still a good showing.
“It was awesome for Sulman. He's really been playing well. He had a breakthrough last week in Vegas, and then this was another breakthrough, so that's very encouraging to see him play at that level because he has played beautifully. To play those final two rounds without a bogey was phenomenal because the conditions were quite difficult.”
“We just need to get everybody on the same page, because whenever someone's playing really well, someone's struggling. Hopefully, we can push through and finish this year with everyone finding their own zone.”
Up Next: The Ducks have a quick turnaround this week as they travel to Stanford, Calif., to prepare for an appearance at The Goodwin, which is set to begin on Thursday.
Players Mentioned
