Stember Leads Ducks In Second Round

Saturday, May 27

Scottsdale, AZ

All Day

University of Oregon

NCAA Championships

05/27/23 | Men's Golf

Live Scoring/Results

By: Nate Krueger

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Senior Nate Stember bounced back from a tough opening round with a 1-under 69 to lead the Oregon men's golf team on Saturday in round two of the 2023 NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club.

The No. 19 Ducks finished the day with an 11-over 291, a one-stroke improvement from Friday. Oregon was dealt a tough blow with a mid-round injury to junior Gregory Solhaug, and struggled to sustain a hot start for the second day in a row.

Oregon will enter Sunday's third round in 22nd place at 23-over par, needing to get into the top 15 to make the cut and advance to the final round of stroke play on Monday. No. 6 Stanford, No. 25 Georgia and BYU currently hold the final spots in a tie for 13th at 16-over par, seven strokes up on the Ducks, and No. 3 Illinois leads the 30-team field at 2-under par.

How it Happened: The Ducks got off to a solid start after opening the day on the back nine. Oregon's four counting scorers made five birdies against just three bogeys on the back, putting the Ducks at 2 under on the day and moving them up towards the top 10. But a triple bogey quickly followed on hole No. 1, and Solhaug's injury came one hole later. Oregon went on to shoot 13-over par on the front nine.

"We were doing great," head coach Casey Martin said, "and then it was just like a little bit of a twilight zone right there. We had a guy make a triple and then Greg goes down and it just kind of got away from us, but that's golf. Adversity happens. We're going to give everything we have tomorrow."

Stember was a bright spot on the day, shooting 1-under par a day after not counting towards the team score with a 7-over 77. The Portland native made back-to-back birdies at No. 15 and No. 16 to make the turn bogey-free at 2 under, and then shot 1 over on the front to card his 12th round under par on the season.

"Great to see that from Nate," Martin said. "The course is on edge, so it doesn't take much for a guy to shoot 69 or a 77. He hit it pretty similarly and just got a few better breaks, but he hit it really nicely."

Freshman Aiden Krafft was right behind Stember with an even-par 70, and he is the top Duck on the leaderboard through two rounds at plus-4 overall. Krafft was 1 under and bogey-free through 14 holes before a bogey at No. 6, the only blemish on his scorecard. He made a great par save at No. 7, executing a left-handed punch out of a bush on his second shot and then getting up-and-down with a solid approach shot and a long putt.

Owen Avrit came in with a 5-over 75, and Greyson Leach rounded out the counting scores with a 7-over 77.

Solhaug's injury was an extremely unique but nonetheless scary situation. The junior stepped on a tee shortly after making the turn and it pierced through his shoe. He was unable to continue with his round and was forced to withdraw from the tournament.

"I've been in golf nearly 50 years and have never seen anything like that," Martin said. "He was in a lot of pain."

The Ducks will substitute in redshirt freshman Gabriel Hari for Solhaug on Sunday. Hari owns a 73.47 scoring average in 17 rounds this season.

Notable: Avrit and Stember were both named to the PING All-Region team at the start of Saturday's round … Oregon has now counted all 35 of Avrit's rounds this season.

Ducks on the Leaderboard:
22. Oregon – 292-291 – 583 (+23)
T42. Aiden Krafft – 74-70 – 144 (+4)
T67. Nate Stember – 77-69 -146 (+6)
T84. Greyson Leach – 70-77 – 147 (+7)
T96. Owen Avrit – 73-75 – 148 (+8)
NA. Greg Solhaug – 75-W – 75 (+5)

Up Next: No. 19 Oregon will be paired with No. 18 Mississippi State and No. 17 Texas for the third round in a row on Sunday, needing a strong round to move up to the top 15 and advance to Monday. The Ducks will tee off beginning at 12:15 p.m. PT off hole No. 1.