Saturday, May 18
Carlsbad, CA
All Day
University of Oregon
vs
NCAA Championships
Romero's 66 Powers Ducks Up Leaderboard
05/18/24 | Women's Golf
CARLSBAD, Calif. — The Oregon women's golf team tied for the best round of the day on Saturday at the NCAA Championships behind a dazzling 6-under 66 from true freshman Kiara Romero at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.
The No. 12 Ducks finished with a 5-under 283, an 11-stroke improvement from Friday's opening round and tied with UCLA and USC for the low round of the day. After ending the first round in 17th place, Oregon moved up 10 spots into seventh place going into Sunday's third round.
"Incredibly proud of our team today," head coach Derek Radley said. "We had a quick turnaround to get ready this morning, and they came out dialed in from the very start. It was important for us to make a move in this round and get into better position going into tomorrow. We're starting to get a better feel for this golf course and are grateful to have some momentum now going into round three.
Romero made eight birdies en route to a 6-under 66, tied for the low individual round of the day and the second-lowest round so far of the weekend. It was the lowest round by a Duck at the NCAA Championships since Caroline Inglis shot a 7-under 65 in 2016 at Eugene Country Club.
"So impressed by Kiara," Radley said. "She has been feeling a little under the weather the last couple days, so to come out on short rest and shoot 6 under is just unbelievable. She was striking the ball incredibly well and just kept giving herself opportunities. She carried us today and continues to show why she is one of the truly elite players in the country."
The field will be cut to the top 15 teams after Sunday's round, with the top eight following Monday's final round of stroke play advancing to match play. Oregon goes into Sunday with a 12-stroke cushion on the 15-team cut line.
How it Happened: The Ducks got off to a fast start while opening their round on the back nine, with all five players making at least one birdie in their first two holes. Oregon's four counting scorers combined to shoot 5 under through its first nine holes before holding steady with an even-par performance on the back half.
Romero opened her round with the first of her eight birdies on No. 10, but got back to even with a bogey at No. 12. It didn't take long for her to find her rhythm, kicking off a stretch of five birdies in six holes on No. 14. Four of those birdies came in her final five holes before the turn – including three straight from holes 14-16 – as she closed the back nine with a 4-under 32 after carding a 5-over 41 on that side on Friday.
After making bogey on No. 4, Romero carded three straight pars before finishing with back-to-back birdies. She stuck her approach on the par-3 8th to set up a birdie putt, and then again gave herself a short birdie look on No. 9 to close out her round.
"My ball striking was really good today so I was able to attack most of the pins out there and play more aggressively," Romero said. "My irons just caught fire out there and I hit seven approaches within three feet was able to birdie five out of six holes in a row. It was great to be able to put up a low number for my team and we're excited to come back out and keep attacking this course tomorrow."
Romero's 66 is her second-best score of the season, as well as her eighth sub-70 performance and 22nd par-or-better round. She moved up a whopping 80 spots on the individual leaderboard and will enter the third round in a tie for seventh place at 3-under par overall.
Oregon got an under-par performance from another freshman on Saturday as Ting-Hsuan Huang came in with a 1-under 71. She got off to the hottest start of anyone with back-to-back birdies and three in her first five holes, setting the tone for a 2-under 34 on the back side. She made eight pars and just one bogey on the front to finish par-or-better for the fifth time this season.
Seniors Ching-Tzu Chen and Minori Nagano each came in with 1-over 73s to round out Oregon's counting scores. Chen was 1 under through her first 12 holes, while Nagano shot 2 under across her final six.
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
7. Oregon – 294-283 – 577 (+1)
T7. Kiara Romero – 75-66 – 141 (-3)
T29. Ching-Tzu Chen – 71-73 – 144 (E)
T50. Ting-Hsuan Huang – 76-71 – 147 (+3)
T61. Minori Nagano – 75-73 – 148 (+4)
T85. Karen Tsuru – 73-77 – 150 (+6)
Notable: Romero's eight birdies brought her season total to 114, second-most in UO single-season history and now just two back of Hsin-Yu Lu (116, 2021-22) for the program record … Romero's 10 total birdies this weekend are tied for second-most among all players … Chen made two birdies to become the third Duck ever to surpass 350 in a career with 351, just three back of Caroline Inglis (354, 2013-16) for No. 2 all-time at Oregon … Oregon has been the third-best team in the field on par-4s, shooting 1 under … The Ducks are tied for second in the field with 33 total birdies, but are 24th in pars (108) … Texas A&M leads the team race at 11-under par, and the Aggies' Adela Cernousek is the individual leader at 8-under par.
Round Three Tee Times (Sunday, May 19)
7:35 a.m. – Karen Tsuru
7:46 a.m. – Minori Nagano
7:57 a.m. – Ting-Hsuan Huang
8:08 a.m. – Ching-Tzu Chen
8:19 a.m. – Kiara Romero
The No. 12 Ducks finished with a 5-under 283, an 11-stroke improvement from Friday's opening round and tied with UCLA and USC for the low round of the day. After ending the first round in 17th place, Oregon moved up 10 spots into seventh place going into Sunday's third round.
"Incredibly proud of our team today," head coach Derek Radley said. "We had a quick turnaround to get ready this morning, and they came out dialed in from the very start. It was important for us to make a move in this round and get into better position going into tomorrow. We're starting to get a better feel for this golf course and are grateful to have some momentum now going into round three.
Romero made eight birdies en route to a 6-under 66, tied for the low individual round of the day and the second-lowest round so far of the weekend. It was the lowest round by a Duck at the NCAA Championships since Caroline Inglis shot a 7-under 65 in 2016 at Eugene Country Club.
"So impressed by Kiara," Radley said. "She has been feeling a little under the weather the last couple days, so to come out on short rest and shoot 6 under is just unbelievable. She was striking the ball incredibly well and just kept giving herself opportunities. She carried us today and continues to show why she is one of the truly elite players in the country."
The field will be cut to the top 15 teams after Sunday's round, with the top eight following Monday's final round of stroke play advancing to match play. Oregon goes into Sunday with a 12-stroke cushion on the 15-team cut line.
How it Happened: The Ducks got off to a fast start while opening their round on the back nine, with all five players making at least one birdie in their first two holes. Oregon's four counting scorers combined to shoot 5 under through its first nine holes before holding steady with an even-par performance on the back half.
Romero opened her round with the first of her eight birdies on No. 10, but got back to even with a bogey at No. 12. It didn't take long for her to find her rhythm, kicking off a stretch of five birdies in six holes on No. 14. Four of those birdies came in her final five holes before the turn – including three straight from holes 14-16 – as she closed the back nine with a 4-under 32 after carding a 5-over 41 on that side on Friday.
After making bogey on No. 4, Romero carded three straight pars before finishing with back-to-back birdies. She stuck her approach on the par-3 8th to set up a birdie putt, and then again gave herself a short birdie look on No. 9 to close out her round.
Dazzled.
— Oregon Women's Golf (@OregonWGolf) May 19, 2024
Kiara Romero's 6-under 66 is the lowest round by a Duck at the NCAA Championships since 2016. #GoDucks pic.twitter.com/BLCx5oksC9
"My ball striking was really good today so I was able to attack most of the pins out there and play more aggressively," Romero said. "My irons just caught fire out there and I hit seven approaches within three feet was able to birdie five out of six holes in a row. It was great to be able to put up a low number for my team and we're excited to come back out and keep attacking this course tomorrow."
Romero's 66 is her second-best score of the season, as well as her eighth sub-70 performance and 22nd par-or-better round. She moved up a whopping 80 spots on the individual leaderboard and will enter the third round in a tie for seventh place at 3-under par overall.
Oregon got an under-par performance from another freshman on Saturday as Ting-Hsuan Huang came in with a 1-under 71. She got off to the hottest start of anyone with back-to-back birdies and three in her first five holes, setting the tone for a 2-under 34 on the back side. She made eight pars and just one bogey on the front to finish par-or-better for the fifth time this season.
Seniors Ching-Tzu Chen and Minori Nagano each came in with 1-over 73s to round out Oregon's counting scores. Chen was 1 under through her first 12 holes, while Nagano shot 2 under across her final six.
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
7. Oregon – 294-283 – 577 (+1)
T7. Kiara Romero – 75-66 – 141 (-3)
T29. Ching-Tzu Chen – 71-73 – 144 (E)
T50. Ting-Hsuan Huang – 76-71 – 147 (+3)
T61. Minori Nagano – 75-73 – 148 (+4)
T85. Karen Tsuru – 73-77 – 150 (+6)
Notable: Romero's eight birdies brought her season total to 114, second-most in UO single-season history and now just two back of Hsin-Yu Lu (116, 2021-22) for the program record … Romero's 10 total birdies this weekend are tied for second-most among all players … Chen made two birdies to become the third Duck ever to surpass 350 in a career with 351, just three back of Caroline Inglis (354, 2013-16) for No. 2 all-time at Oregon … Oregon has been the third-best team in the field on par-4s, shooting 1 under … The Ducks are tied for second in the field with 33 total birdies, but are 24th in pars (108) … Texas A&M leads the team race at 11-under par, and the Aggies' Adela Cernousek is the individual leader at 8-under par.
Round Three Tee Times (Sunday, May 19)
7:35 a.m. – Karen Tsuru
7:46 a.m. – Minori Nagano
7:57 a.m. – Ting-Hsuan Huang
8:08 a.m. – Ching-Tzu Chen
8:19 a.m. – Kiara Romero
Players Mentioned
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Golf
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