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Chen, Chacon Lead Ducks In Round Two

by GoDucks.com
May 22, 2021

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Playing through windy conditions in the afternoon group, the Oregon women's golf team finished the second round of the NCAA Championships with a 12-over 300 on Saturday at Grayhawk Golf Club.
 
Oregon opened the day in second place after firing a 2-over 290 on Friday morning. The Ducks remain in good position despite dropping seven spots in the leaderboard, sitting in a tie for ninth place at 14 over entering Sunday's third round. The 24-team field will be cut to 15 teams following the third round, with the top eight after the final round of stroke play on Monday advancing to the match play portion of the tournament.
 
"It was challenging out there today at times, especially when the wind started kicking in," said head coach Derek Radley. "I'm proud of the way our team battled through adversity and continued to fight from start to finish. Tomorrow is a big day for us and I'm looking forward to seeing how our student-athletes respond."

The sophomore combination of Ching-Tzu Chen and Briana Chacon led the way for the Ducks, with Chen firing a 1-under 71 after not contributing a counting score on Friday. Chacon stayed red-hot with an even-par 72, her sixth consecutive round of par-or-better and 11th in her last 14.
 
"Ching-Tzu and Briana were awesome today" said Radley. "They really picked up their teammates and were just so steady all day long. Briana continues to be incredibly consistent for us, and I'm really proud of the way Ching-Tzu came out and bounced back after struggling a little bit yesterday."
 
How it Happened: Chen got off to a great start, making a birdie on No. 2 and adding eight pars on the front nine to make the turn at 1 under. The Taiwan native added two more birdies at No. 12 and No. 14 to get to 3 under before a pair of bogeys, but she finished strong with a par on No. 18 to record her best round of the season.
 
One of only four athletes in the field to shoot under par on Friday, Chacon sunk a pair of birdie putts on her first two holes Saturday to quickly get to 2 under. She battled through the middle of her round with four bogeys in seven holes, but was just 1 over through 13 holes and got back to even with a birdie at No. 14. Chacon made par on her final four holes to come in with a 72.

 
Chacon – who has finished in the top 10 in each of her last five tournaments – sits in a six-way tie for fifth place individually going into Sunday, and is one of just 10 players under par at minus-1. Stanford's Rachel Heck leads the field at 8 under, and the Cardinal is in control of the team race at 7 under.
 
Freshman Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu was 1 over on the front nine before finishing with a 6-over 78, and sophomore Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen rounded out the counting scores with a 7-over 79.
 
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
T9. Oregon – 290-300 – 590 (+14)
T5. Briana Chacon – 71-72 – 143 (-1)
T40. Ching-Tzu Chen – 77-71 – 148 (+4)
T61. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – 72-78 – 150 (+6)
T91. Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen – 74-79 – 153 (+9)
T96. Tze-Han (Heather) Lin – 73-81 – 154 (+10)
 
Notable: Chen was one of the biggest movers in the field on Saturday, rising 47 spots on the individual leaderboard … Chacon (-2) and Chen (-1) are both under par on par-4 holes so far this weekend … Chacon leads the Ducks with eight total birdies, tied for fifth-most in the field.
 
Up Next: The Ducks will tee off with the morning groups on Sunday as one of the top 12 teams in the standings. Oregon will be paired with Ole Miss and LSU beginning at 7:36 a.m. PT.
 

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