CARMEL, Calif. – Greg Solhaug turned in the best performance of his career for the 19th-ranked Oregon men’s golf team, shooting an 8-under, 208 to finish tied for third at the Cal Poly Invitational on Tuesday. Solhaug and Nate Stember each finished in the top 10 as the Ducks placed fourth in a field of 15 teams with a score of 852 (-12).
How It Happened
Play was limited to 27 holes on day on Monday, resulting in second-round play being split across the two-day event.
Solhaug was positioned in a tie for fourth after shooting a 2-under 70 in the first round. The Duck was bogey-free for the first 14 holes of the second round, shooting a 4-under 68 thanks to six birdies. That production continued into the final 18 as he used four birdies to log another 70 on the scorecard, closing out his career-best 8-under performance and securing the highest finish in his collegiate career thus far.
Stember tied for sixth and finished just behind Solhaug with a score of 209 (-7), propelled by scores of 67 and 69 in the first and second rounds, respectively. After bogeying each of the first two holes in the second round, Stember responded by shooting birdies on five of the next 11 holes, finishing with six total in the round. Stember and Solhaug have each finished in the top ten in back-to-back tournaments for the Ducks, doing so at the Ben Hogan Collegiate earlier this month.
Greyson Leach and Owen Avrit each tied for 38th in the field, logging scores of 218 (+2). After an opening-round 74, Leach improved his score in each of the next two rounds, finishing strong with a 1-under 71 in the final 18 thanks to four birdies, including three-straight on holes 8-10. Avrit had a birdie streak of his own in the second round, sinking four-straight to aid his performance.
Oregon led the field with an 8-under 280 after the opening round, but were unable to maintain the lead throughout the second day of play. The Ducks took fourth place in the tournament, finishing above two ranked teams in No. 22 Ohio State and No. 23 Duke.
Quotable
“We started the tournament really well, but didn’t have a great finish,” head coach Casey Martin said. “It was a long couple of days and I’m sure our guys are looking forward some rest before getting after it again in the spring.”
Duck Scorecard
Cal Poly Invitational
The Preserve Club – Par 72 (7,041 yards)
4. Oregon 280-283-289—852 (-12)
T3. Greg Solhaug 70-68-70—208 (-8)
T6. Nate Stember 67-69-73—209 (-7)
T38. Owen Avrit 69-73-76—218 (+2)
T38. Greyson Leach 74-73-71—218 (+2)
T50. Eric Doyle (I) 74-72-74—220 (+4)
T78. Thomas Jenkins Jr. 79-77-75—231 (+15)
Notable
Greg Solhaug’s T3 finish was the best of his career, surpassing his previous best of T4 at the 2022 Bandon Dunes Championship…Solhaug and Stember have each logged back-to-back top-10 finishes…Solhaug finished 8-under for the tournament, his lowest tournament to par score in his career…Oregon shot the second most birdies in the field with 61…Solhaug was second in the field in par-4 scoring with an average of 3.80…Stember and Solhaug each finished with 15 birdies, tied for fifth in the field. – www.GoDucks.com –
