San Diego State Classic Up Next For No. 7 Ducks

SAN DIEGO - The Oregon women's golf team will return to action on Monday for its second tournament of the spring season, opening the San Diego State Classic with a 36-hole day at The Farms Golf Club.

The No. 7 Ducks kicked off 2024 last weekend in Los Angeles, going 2-1 in match play with a pair of top-25 victories at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge.

Oregon is one of two top-10 teams in the 12-team field, along with No. 6 South Carolina, and one of three top-25 teams (No. 23 Virginia).

2024 San Diego State Classic
Dates: Monday, Feb. 12 - Tuesday, Feb. 13
Course: The Garms Golf Club
Par/Yardage: Par 72/6,329 yards (Monday) and 6,254 yards (Tuesday)
Format: Three rounds of stroke play - Two rounds on Monday, one on Tuesday

The Field
No. 6 South Carolina, No. 7 Oregon, No. 23 Virginia, California Baptist, Colorado, Denver, Georgia, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Francisco, Tulane, UNLV

Teeing Off for the Ducks
1. Kiara Romero
2. Ashleigh Park
3. Ching-Tzu Chen
4. Minori Nagano
5. Ting-Hsuan Huang

How to Follow
Live scoring for the San Diego State Classic will be available on BirdieFire. Updates throughout the tournament will be provided on Twitter at @OregonWGolf.

Huang Leads Ducks in Spring Opener
The Ducks faced adversity immediately to open their spring season, when the start of the Therese Hession Regional Challenge was moved up a day and the format was switched from stroke play to match play due to incoming weather in the Los Angeles Area. Derek Radley's team responded well, opening the weekend with a dominant 5-0 victory over No. 25 Mississippi State. The Ducks then put up a fight against No. 6 South Carolina before falling 3-2, though Minori Nagano's match was called early due to darkness while a hole down with still one to play. Oregon bounced back on Sunday, coming back from an early deficit to pick up another top-25 victory over No. 19 San Jose State, 3-2. True freshman Ting-Hsuan Huang led the Ducks in her first taste of collegiate match play, going 3-0 on the weekend while Ching-Tzu Chen, Kiara Romero and Nagano all went 2-1. Romero recorded the weekend's signature win in the opening match, defeating the No. 4 ranked player in the nation, Julia Lopez Ramirez of Mississippi State, 3&2.

Duck Trio Heading to Augusta
Oregon will be well-represented at the Augusta National Women's Amateur in April, with current Ducks Ashleigh Park and Kiara Romero earning invites to the prestigious tournament along with incoming Duck Yana Wilson. Romero earned an automatic invitation with her win in the 2023 U.S. Junior Girls' Championship, while Park and Wilson received invites based on their standings in the current world amateur rankings. The tournament will start on April 3-4 with two rounds of stroke play at the Champions Retreat Golf Club, after which the field will be cut to the top 30. All players will be able to play a practice round at the famous Augusta National Golf Club on April 5 before the final round of stroke play there on April 6.

Four Ducks in Individual Top 55
The Ducks opened the spring with four players ranked inside the top 55 of the individual national rankings, and saw upward movement following their strong showing at the Therese Hession Regional Challenge. Kiara Romero moved up six spots and is the top Duck in the rankings at No. 26, while Ching-Tzu Chen held her position at No. 36. Minori Nagano moved up nine spots to No. 44, and Ashleigh Park came in No. 52.

Chen Chasing All-Time Birdie Record
A graduate student in her fifth and final season, Ching-Tzu Chen enters the San Diego State Classic with 302 birdies throughout her Oregon career (stroke play only). She is one of seven Ducks ever to reach the 300 mark, and is just four back of No. 6 (306, Briana Chacon) in program history and 15 away from No. 5 (317, Cathleen Santoso). Chen will have a shot this season at breaking the all-time Oregon record of 377 birdies, held by Cassy Isagawa (2012-15).

Up Next
Oregon will have a short break from competition following the San Diego State Classic, returning to action on March 4-6 at the Darius Rucker Intercollegiate in South Carolina.