Moriyama Shares Lead Entering Final Round

SANTA ROSA, Calif. – Yuki Moriyama grinded his way to a 2-under 70 to hold a share of the lead at 12 under heading into the final round of the Pac-12 Championships at Mayacama Golf Club. Oregon shot 2 under as a team to remain in third place at 17 under overall through 54 holes.
 
Moriyama is tied atop the individual leaderboard with Arizona's Brad Reeves and Ryggs Johnston of Arizona State while the Ducks trail only the Wildcats and Sun Devils – both top 25 teams.
 
"The kids are grinding," said head coach Casey Martin. "It was a little bit of a tough final nine for us, but overall I think we're doing great. We just need to finish strong tomorrow."
 
How It Happened: Moriyama got off to a solid start, making back-to-back birdies at holes three and four to get to 2 under on his round and 12 under overall. He gave a couple back with a double bogey at five, but got hot before the turn with three straight birdies to shoot a 3-under 34 going out. The freshman cooled off a bit on the back nine, making just a bogey at 10 and a birdie at 15 before ending with a dropped shot at 18 to shoot a 2-under 70.
 
Owen Avrit turned in his second 4-under 68 of the tournament to move into a tie for 14th place. He birdied the par-5 fourth hole before bouncing back from his only bogey of the day at six with another birdie at the par-4 seventh. Avrit picked up another shot at the par-5 ninth and made the turn at 2 under before adding another birdie at 10 to reach minus-3. He played steady the rest of the way, making a birdie at 12 followed by six straight pars to finish.
 
Tom Gueant shot an even-par 72 to remain even overall and tied for 28th. He got off to a scorching hot start with three straight birdies but hit a few bumps in the middle part of his round with bogeys at seven and 13 in addition to a triple bogey at 12. Gueant got back to even with birdies at 15 and the par-3 17th, shooting 2 over on the back nine.
 
Nate Stember and Craig Ronne each shot a 2-over 74 as the final two counting Oregon scores. Stember's day was highlighted by an eagle at two while Ronne was bogey-free and 2 under through 11 before dropping some shots coming in.
 
Ducks On The Leaderboard:
3. Oregon – 355-350-358 – 1,063 (-17)
T1. Yuki Moriyama – 65-69-70 – 204 (-12)
T14. Owen Avrit – 68-76-68 – 212 (-4)
T28. Tom Gueant – 73-71-72 – 216 (E)
T36. Nate Stember – 74-70-74 – 218 (+2)
T43. Craig Ronne – 75-71-74 – 220 (+4)
T47. Greg Solhaug – 76-69-78 – 223 (+7)
 
Notable: Moriyama is the first Oregon player since Wyndham Clark in 2017 to hold a share of the individual lead at the Pac-12 Championships entering the final round … He's shot under par in seven of his last 10 rounds with a 70.00 scoring average over that stretch … Moriyama leads the field with 19 total birdies … Avrit fired a 68 for the second time in the tournament, giving him three rounds in the 60s this season … Oregon leads the field in par-3 scoring average at 3.01.
 
Up Next: The Ducks close out play at the Pac-12 Championships Wednesday morning starting at 8:36 a.m.