Ducks Set For Final Test Before Postseason Play

EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon women's golf team is flying high after storming back to claim the program's first win since 2016 last weekend at the PING ASU Invitational, and the Ducks will look to carry that momentum into their final tournament of the spring before postseason play begins with the Pac-12 Championships on April 23. UO heads to Napa Valley, Calif., for the annual Silverado Showdown, an event co-hosted by Oregon and Colorado at Silverado Country Club. 

2021 Silverado Showdown
Dates: Monday, April 5 - Wednesday, April 7
Location: Napa Valley, Calif.
Course: Silverado Country Club
Par/Yards: 72/6,192
Format: Five-count-four; Three rounds; 18 holes each day

Live Scoring: http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=21064

The Field (14 Teams)
Arizona State, California, Colorado, Iowa State, Northwestern, Oregon, Oregon State, San Diego State, San Jose State, Washington, Washington State, UCLA, UNLV, USC.

Teeing Off For The Ducks (2020-21 scoring average)
1. Briana Chacon (73.17)
2. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu (73.50)
3. Tze-Han (Heather) Lin (76.22)
4. Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen (76.00)
5. Alexis Phadungmartvorakul (77.67)
Ind. Ching-Tzu Chen (74.92)

Did You Know?
Oregon's win at the PING ASU Invitational was the team's first since February 2016 and first under head coach Derek Radley, and the 35th in program history. 

Numbers to Know
-9 - Oregon shot a 9-under 279 to storm back and win the PING ASU Invitational, the fourth-best score vs. par in program history.
T2 - A Duck has tied for second overall in each of UO's last three tournaments - Ching-Tzu Chen, Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu, and Briana Chacon.
10 - Dating back to 2019-20, Oregon has finished in the top five in 10 of its last 11 tournaments, including four straight to open 2021.
13 - The Ducks' stellar finish in Phoenix continued their recent rise up the national rankings; UO is now No. 13 according to Golfstat.
40 - Freshman Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu is Oregon's highest-rated player at No. 40 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Oregon At The Silverado Showdown
This is the seventh edition of the Silverado Showdown, with last year's event canceled due to the pandemic. Oregon won the tournament in its second year in 2014-15, and the Ducks took second in 2015-16 and fourth in 2018-19. Alexis Phadungmartvorakul led Oregon in Nappa Valley as a freshman in 2017-18, shooting 1 over to tie for 12th place individually.

Stellar Final Round Propels Ducks to Victory
The Ducks fired an incredible 9-under 279 last Sunday to fly five spots up the leaderboard and tie for first place at the PING ASU Invitational, securing the program's first tournament win since February 2016 and first under head coach Derek Radley. UO recorded the fourth-best score vs. par in program single-round history and fifth-best score overall to tie with host Arizona State at 2-under-par for the weekend. Oregon's 279 was the only sub-280 score of the weekend, and the best overall round by four strokes. Briana Chacon led the final-round surge with a bogey-free 4-under 68 to tie for second overall at, while Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu (T-9th) and Tze-Han (Heather) Lin (T-13th) each shot a 3-under 69 to give the Ducks three players in the individual top 15. Oregon dominated the field with a 21-under performance on par-5 holes, eight strokes better than any other team. 

Top-Five Streak
Oregon's win at the PING ASU Invitational is the headliner in what has been an impressive streak by Derek Radley's squad.UO has finished in the top five in four straight tournaments to open 2021, as well as six straight and 10 of its last 11 dating back to last season. During that span, the Ducks have posted six top-three showings and four runner-up or better performances. 

Chacon Enjoying Sophomore Surge
Briana Chacon impressed during a pandemic-shortened freshman season in 2019-20, but the Whittier, Calif., native has taken her game to the next level as a sophomore. Chacon keyed Oregon's comeback victory last weekend in Phoenix with a 4-under 68 in the final round, finishing the weekend at -4 to record the best individual finish of her career in a tie for second place. It was the third straight top-10 showing for Chacon, who tied for ninth at the Bruin Wave Invitational and sixth at the Wildcat Invitational. Chacon leads the Ducks in scoring average (73.17), birdies (37) and rounds of par or better (6), and she has finished at or below par in five of her last six rounds entering the Silverado Showdown.

Lu Living Up To The Hype
Derek Radley made arguably the biggest recruiting splash in program history when he signed Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu on Nov. 18, 2019, and the Tawain native has lived up to the hype so far as a true freshman. Currently the No. 40 ranked amateur in the world after coming to Oregon as the top-ranked recruit out of Asia in the 2020 class, Lu has posted three straight top-10 finishes after tying for ninth at the PING ASU Invitational. Lu has shot sub-70 in three of her last six rounds, including a 67-73-69 to finish 7 under and tie for second overall at the Wildcat Invitational (March 8-9). Lu has already tied the UO single-season record with four eagles as a freshman after picking up two last weekend in Phoenix, and she is second on the team in scoring average (73.50) and birdies (29).

Pac-12 Championships Up Next
Oregon will head to Stanford for the 2021 Pac-12 Championships on April 23-25 at Stanford Golf Course.