No. 3 Ducks Surge Into Lead In Tallahassee

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Oregon women's golf team put together one of its most complete performances of the season on Saturday to take an eight-shot lead entering the final round of the Florida State Match Up at Seminole Legacy Golf Club.
 
Starting the day in third and two strokes back of the lead, the No. 3 Ducks fired a 7-under 281 to take command of the three-day tournament. Oregon's lineup combined for 21 birdies and an eagle against just 16 bogeys, with five different players shooting par or better.
 
"Really proud of our team today," head coach Derek Radley said. "They were locked in from start to finish and managed the course really well. Great teams get contributions from their entire lineup, and that's exactly what we were able to do. It was a total team effort."
 
Oregon is eight shots up on host and 16th-ranked Florida State (+3) with 18 holes left to play on Sunday, with No. 26 Virginia Tech in third at 8 over. All six UO players are in the top 15 on the individual leaderboard, with Ching-Tzu Chen in third place overall at 3 under and Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu one shot back in a tie for fourth.
 
"We put ourselves in a good position," Radley said. "Now we need to come out tomorrow with the same mindset, stay aggressive, and put together another good round."
 
The Ducks are seeking their second tournament victory of the 2021-22 season after opening the fall with a dominant win at the Mason Rudolph Championship.
 
How it Happened: Junior transfer Brittany Shin put together her best round as a Duck to lead Oregon's counting scores, making four birdies and an eagle to finish with a 3-under 69. The 2021 Big West Player of the Year was even at the turn before starting the back nine with a birdie and an eagle – the first by a Duck this season and first of Shin's UO career – and she bounced back from a bogey at No. 12 to shoot 1 under across the final six holes.
 
Senior Tze-Han (Heather) Lin is competing as an individual this weekend and won't count towards the team scores, but she matched Shin with a 3-under 69 while making a team-high five birdies.
 
Chen and fellow junior Briana Chacon each fired a 2-under 70 while combining for just three bogeys between them. Chen made bogey on her first hole before shooting 3 under the rest of the way, and Chacon offset her two bogeys with four birdies.
 
Lu didn't count towards the team score with a 3-over 75, but she remains in good position at 1 under overall after leading UO with a 4-under 68 on Friday. Chen is three shots back of Florida State's Amelia Willamson (-6) entering Sunday, with Lu five shots off the lead.
 
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
1. Oregon – 290-281 – 571 (-5)
3. Ching-Tzu Chen – 71-70 – 141 (-3)
T4. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – 68-75 – 143 (-1)
T7. Brittany Shin -76-69 – 145 (+1)
T9. Briana Chacon – 76-70 – 146 (+2)
T9. Tze-Han (Heather) Lin* - 77-69 – 146 (+2)
T12. Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen – 75-72 – 147 (+3)
* Competing as an individual
 
Notable: Oregon has been the best team on the field on par 3s (E), par 4s (+14) and par 5s (-12) … The Ducks lead the field with 117 total pars and are second with 31 birdies, one behind Florida State … Lu has been the best player in the field on par 4s, shooting 2 under … Shin now has six career sub-70 rounds, while Lin shot in the 60s for the third time this season and 10th in her career … Chen and Lin recorded their eighth par-or-better round of the season, Chacon and Nielsen each notched their sixth, and Shin earned her first.
 
Up Next: Lin will tee off the final round at approximately 4:45 a.m. PT on Sunday, with the rest of the Ducks set to begin starting at 5:45 a.m. Oregon will be paired with Florida State and Virginia Tech as it looks to take home the team title. Live updates will be available throughout the round on Twitter at @OregonWGolf.