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Oregon Notes: NCAA Championships -
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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – After capturing wins at both the Pac-12 Championships and the NCAA Albuquerque Regional, the Oregon Ducks will look to complete the ultimate trifecta this week at the 2022 NCAA Championships at Grayhawk Golf Club.
The No. 2 ranked Ducks go to Scottsdale as a bona fide contender to win their first-ever national championship, setting a new program record with five tournament wins this season while placing in the top five in all 11 of their tournaments. Oregon is bringing its entire starting lineup back to Grayhawk after tying for 11th at last season’s NCAA Championships, two strokes shy of advancing to match play.
“Last year, that was the first time that any of our five have played in the national championship,” head coach Derek Radley said. “Missing that match play and that top eight by just two shots last year has definitely stuck with them and was a huge learning curve. You can see them reallly utilize that right from the get-go this season. I’m so excited. The goal all year is to get in that top eight, so I’m excited for them to have that opportunity.”
2022 NCAA Championships
Dates: Friday, May 20 – Wednesday, May 25
Location: Scottsdale, Ariz.
Course: Grayhawk Golf Club
Par/Yards: 72/6,384
How to Follow
Live scoring for the NCAA Championships will be available at Golfstat.com, and Golf Channel will broadcast the action beginning in the final round of stroke play on Monday, May 23. Live updates will be provided throughout the tournament on Twitter at @OregonWGolf.
The Field
The 24-team field in Scottsdale will feature the top 11 teams in the latest Golfstat national rankings, as well as 14 of the top 15 and 19 of the top 20. As the No. 2 team in the country, Oregon will be paired with No. 1 Stanford and No. 3 South Carolina for the first two rounds of the championships.
No. 1 Stanford, No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 5 San Jose State, No. 6 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Arizona State, No. 8 Virginia, No. 9 Alabama, No. 10 Florida State, No. 11 USC, No. 13 Texas, No. 14 LSU, No. 15 UCLA, No. 16 Baylor, No. 17 Auburn, No. 18 Arkansas, No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 20 Michigan, Georgia, Mississippi State, Purdue, TCU, Vanderbilt
Format
Play will begin on Friday with the first of four rounds of stroke play. The field will be cut to 15 teams following Sunday’s third round, with the top eight teams after Monday’s final round advancing to match play. The match play quarterfinals and semifinals will be held Tuesday, with the championship match on Wednesday.
Teeing Off for the Ducks (Scoring Avg.)
1. Briana Chacon (72.87)
2. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu (72.24)
3. Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen (73.06)
4. Ching-Tzu Chen (73.36)
5. Tze-Han (Heather) Lin (72.73)
Numbers to Know
2 – Oregon heads to the NCAA Championships as the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, the highest ranking in program history.
5 – The Ducks have set a new program single-season record with five tournament victories in 2021-22.
21 – UO’s five-player lineup has combined for 21 top-10 finishes in 11 tournaments while posting 35 total top-20 performances.
35 – Oregon is the only team in the nation with five players in the top 35 of the Golfstat individual national rankings.
NCAA Championships History
Oregon is making its 12th NCAA Championships appearance, and second straight after tying for 11th last season. UO’s best-ever NCAA finish came in 2016, when the Ducks made the match play quarterfinals at Eugene Country Club. The Ducks’ best-ever individual NCAA finish was a tie for 12th by Paula Patterson in the 1998 NCAA Championships.
Chacon Leads Oregon To NCAA Regional Win
The Ducks booked their ticket to Scottsdale with the first NCAA Regional victory in program history, shooting 4-under par to win the NCAA Albuquerque Regional by three strokes. UO fired back-to-back 4-under 284s in the first two rounds to build a substantial lead. Junior Briana Chacon fueled the victory with the first-ever NCAA Regional individual win by a Duck, winning by four strokes at 9-under par. Chacon was especially stellar in the first two rounds, opening with an incredible 7-under 65 and following with a 3-under 69.
Ducks, Lu Claim Pac-12 Titles
The Oregon Ducks are the best team in the Pac-12 Conference, and now they’re looking to prove they’re the best team in the entire country. UO won the first conference title in program history on April 18-20 at Eugene Country Club, finishing seven strokes up on the field on the strength of a tremendous 3-under 285 in the second round. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu fueled Oregon’s surge to the top of the leaderboard with a 6-under 66 in the second round, and she went on to join Caroline Inglis (2015) as the only Ducks ever to win the Pac-12 individual title.
Loaded Lineup
Oregon’s five-player starting lineup has emerged as one of the nation’s elite this season, combining for 21 top-10 finishes and 35 top-20 showings through 11 tournaments. The entire lineup earned all-Pac-12 recognition, including a program-record three players on the first team in Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu, Tze-Han (Heather) Lin and Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen. Oregon is the only team in the nation with five players in the top 25 of the Golfstat individual rankings, holding an average ranking of 24.2.
Ducks in the National Golfstat Rankings
Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – No. 12
Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen – No. 21
Tze-Han (Heather) Lin – No. 22
Ching-Tzu Chen – No. 32
Briana Chacon – No. 34
Living In The Top Five
The Ducks enter the NCAA Championships with an impressive history of top-five finishes under head coach Derek Radley. Oregon has placed in the top five in each of its 11 tournaments in 2021-22, headlined by a program record five wins. UO has recorded 23 top-five finishes in its last 25 tournaments dating back to the 2019-20 season, with six total wins during that stretch. Overall, the Ducks have earned 29 top-five finishes in 36 total tournaments since Radley and assistant coach Monica Vaughn took over ahead of the 2018-19 season.
