BATON ROUGE, La. – Owen Avrit fired a 1-under 71 to lead the No. 24 Oregon men’s golf team in the second round of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional at The University Club on Tuesday.
The fifth-year senior sank five birdies to card the lowest round of the day for the Ducks and move 16 places up the leaderboard into a tie for 21st individually. Oregon shot an 11-over 299 as a unit in the second round and currently sit eight strokes back of a top five spot that would earn it a spot at this year’s NCAA Championships.
“Today was tough,” head coach Casey Martin said. “We started wonderfully and then just collapsed mid-round. It was disappointing, but it’s still within reach. We need to play our best golf of the year tomorrow.”
Eric Doyle had a solid round for the Ducks as well, shooting par-or-better on 15 holes to finish the day with a 2-over 74. Nate Stember made eight consecutive pars on the back nine but carded a 4 over 76 at the conclusion of the round. Stember (+5, T-27) and Doyle (+6, T-36) join Avrit as the top three Ducks entering Wednesday’s final round.
How It Happened
Oregon got off to a hot start in the round, shooting a collective 6 under through the first four holes of the day. Avrit was at the center of the early surge, carding back-to-back birdies on holes two and three as he made the turn at 1 under.
A bogey on hole 10 brought him back to even par, but the Arroyo Grande, Calif., native rebounded with consecutive pars on the following two holes to reclaim the momentum. Avrit made par on five of his final six holes and closed out the Ducks’ second below-par round of the tournament. Avrit lowered his tournament total to 2 over par and is the Oregon front-runner entering the final day.
Doyle was UO’s most consistent player on the day as he led the team with 14 pars to go with a birdie on hole 14. Bogeys on a trio of par-4 holes led to a 2-over finish, and at 6 over overall Doyle sits third among the UO squad.
Stember was 1 under through the first four holes, but like many of his teammates the fifth-year senior encountered trouble across the remainder of the front nine. After making the turn 3 over par, Stember shot eight-straight pars to steady the ship. A final bogey on hole 18 brought him to 5 over for the tournament and into a tie for 27th individually.
Aiden Krafft carded the fourth counting score for Oregon on Tuesday, recording a 6 over 78. The sophomore was bogey free with two birdies through six holes but was unable to find a birdie on the back nine. Krafft and fellow Duck Greyson Leach each finished the day 7 over for the tournament and are tied for 44th individually.
Duck Scorecard
NCAA Regionals
University Club – Par 72
T8. Oregon 292-299—591 (+15)
T21. Owen Avrit 75-71—146 (+2)
T27. Nate Stember 73-76—149 (+5)
T36. Eric Doyle 76-74—150 (+6)
T44. Greyson Leach 71-80—151 (+7)
T44. Aiden Krafft 73-78—151 (+7)
Notables
Stember is tied for second in the field with 26 pars.
Next Up
The Ducks tee off the final round of the NCAA Regional tomorrow morning at 6:55 a.m. PT.
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