NAPA, Calif. — Fifth-year senior Ching-Tzu Chen made four birdies in her final eight holes on Monday to lead the Oregon women’s golf team with a 1-under 71 in the opening round of the 2024 Chevron Silverado Showdown at Silverado Resort and Spa.
The No. 16 Ducks closed round one with a 9-over 297 to sit in 12th place entering Tuesday’s second round. No. 9 USC leads the team race at 6-under par.
How it Happened: Chen was 2-over par at the turn to start her day, countering three bogeys with a birdie at No. 4. She made another bogey at No. 10 that brought her to 3 over, but immediately responded with back-to-back birdies. After four straight pars, Chen once again carded consecutive birdies on No. 17 and No. 18 to shoot 3-under par on the back nine and 1-under par on the day.
Chen shot par-or-better for the 11th time this season and made five birdies to bring her career total up to 324, fifth-most in program history and just 14 back of Kendra Little (338, 2008-11) for No. 4. Chen is tied for 11th overall and is just four strokes back of the individual lead – shared by Northwestern’s Dianna Lee and Texas’ Bentley Cotton at 5-under par – entering round two.
The Ducks had a pair of highlights at hole No. 10, where both senior Minori Nagano and junior Baylee Hammericksen holed out for eagles. Nagano’s eagle got her back nine started on the way to a 1-over 73, while Hammericksen – competing this week as an individual – holed out for eagle to open her round.
Freshman Kiara Romero – back in the lineup after competing at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur – came in with a 3-over 75 while playing in a group with her sister, Kaleiya Romero of Pepperdine. Sophomore Anika Varma rounded out Oregon’s counting scores with a 6-over 78.
Freshman Karen Tsuru put together a strong round in her Oregon debut while competing as an individual, making two birdies in her final four holes to finish with a 1-over 73. Junior Sonja Tang also made her UO debut as an individual, finishing with a 5-over 77.
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
12. Oregon – 297 (+9)
T11. Ching-Tzu Chen – 71 (-1)
T25. Minori Nagano – 73 (+1)
T47. Kiara Romero – 75 (+3)
T73. Anika Varma – 78 (+6)
79. Ting-Hsuan Huang – 79 (+7)
Individuals
T25. Karen Tsuru – 73 (+1)
T65. Sonja Tang – 77 (+5)
80. Baylee Hammericksen – 80 (+8)
Up Next: Round two will begin at 8:30 a.m. PT on Tuesday.
