Only Oregon finished the 54-hole Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge under par at Palos Verdes Golf Club on March 15, and that netted the Ducks a seven-shot victory over Wake Forest. Oregon, ranked No. 2 in the Golfweek/Sagarin College Rankings, has now won two team titles (following the Florida State Match Up title on the East Coast) in a row and three this season, which is the most for the program in a season since 1999-2000.
The Ducks’ depth showed in the Palos Verdes field, which featured four other top-10 teams, as every player finished inside the top 12. Hsin-Yu Lu and Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen led that effort with T-4 finishes and Briana Chacon was T-6.
As a team, Oregon hasn’t finished outside the top 5 in seven season starts.
“This is a great win for our program,” head coach Derek Radley said in a release. “The Northrop Grumman Challenge is one of the most prestigious regular-season tournaments in all of college golf, and that’s a really, really good field we just went up against. It had an NCAA Tournament feel out there. I’m so proud of the focus and toughness our team showed all week, and especially today when we needed a strong finish. They are playing with a lot of confidence right now and truly believe they are one of the elite teams in the country. We’re excited to get back to work and keep this thing rolling.”
Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings: Women’s team | Women’s individual
College golf blog: The Road to Grayhawk