PULLMAN, Wash. — All five players in Oregon’s lineup shot par-or-better on Monday as the Ducks closed the second round of the 2024 Pac-12 Women’s Golf Championships with an 11-under 277 at Palouse Ridge Golf Club. Oregon’s 277 tied for the third-lowest round in program history and was a 16-stroke improvement from Sunday’s opening round.
The No. 16 Ducks now sit in third place at 6-under par entering Tuesday’s final round, with No. 1 Stanford leading the field at 16 under and No. 7 USC in second at 10 under.
Oregon had three players shoot sub-70 on Monday, with fifth-year senior Ching-Tzu Chen, senior Minori Nagano and freshman Ting-Hsuan (Tiffany) Huang all coming in with 3-under 69s. Freshman Kiara Romero continued her stellar play with a 2-under 70 to complete the counting scores, and freshman Karen Tsuru finished with an even-par 72.
“There were great scoring conditions out there today and our team did a really good job of taking advantage, especially on the back half of the round. I’m really proud of the way CCT, Minori and Tiffany came out and handled themselves after facing some adversity yesterday, and I’m excited to see what tomorrow holds for this group.”
How it Happened: The Ducks were a combined 5-over par through the first six holes of the day before catching fire, combining for 20 birdies and just six bogeys over the final 12 holes. Oregon’s lone bogeys of the back nine came on holes 12 and 13, and no Duck made more than one bogey after hole No. 5.
Chen opened her round with seven pars before ripping off three straight birdies to get to 3-under par. She made her lone bogey of the day at No. 13, and got that stroke back with a birdie at No. 17 to log her sixth sub-70 round of the season.
Nagano had a more up-and-down day, making a team-high seven birdies but also adding two bogeys and a double bogey. A bogey at No. 13 got her back to even par, but she found her groove down the stretch with three straight birdies to finish under 70 for the fifth time.
Huang had the biggest turnaround for the Ducks after opening with a 7-over 79 on Sunday, making four birdies and just one bogey for her first sub-70 performance as a Duck. Huang was even through 12 holes before a birdie at No. 13, and she closed her round with back-to-back birdies to match Chen and Nagano with a 69.
Romero is now the highest Duck on the individual leaderboard in eighth place overall at 2-under par, following her 19th par-or-better showing in 23 rounds this season. Romero’s lone bogey of the day came early in her round at No. 3, and she made all three of her birdies on the back nine to finish at 2 under.
Tsuru will enter the final round just one stroke back of Romero in a tie ninth overall at 1-under par. After firing a 1-under 71 on Sunday, Tsuru bounced back from two early bogeys on Monday to make three birdies and come in at even par.
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
3. Oregon – 293-277 – 570 (-6)
8. Kiara Romero – 72-70 – 142 (-2)
T9. Karen Tsuru – 71-72 – 143 (-1)
T13. Ching-Tzu Chen – 75-69 – 144 (E)
T13. Minori Nagano – 75-69 – 144 (E)
T34. Ting-Hsuan Huang – 79-69 – 148 (+4)
Notable: Oregon leads the field with 118 total pars this week while ranking fifth with 32 total birdies … Chen’s four birdies give her 338 in her career, moving her into a tie with Kendra Little (2008-11) for fourth-most in program history … USC’s Catherine Park and ASU’s Charlotte Back set Pac-12 Championships records with 8-under 64s on Monday, and Park leads the individual race at 10-under par.
Up Next: The Ducks will tee off from hole No. 1 beginning at 8:50 a.m. PT on Tuesday in the final round of the Pac-12 Championships.
