Ducks Take Eight-Shot Lead Into Final Round

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Oregon women's golf team will take an eight-shot lead into the final round of the NCAA Albuquerque Regional after firing a second straight 4-under 284 on Tuesday at UNM Championship Course.
 
Needing a top-four finish to advance to the 2022 NCAA Championships, the No. 2 ranked Ducks go into Wednesday 15 strokes above the cut line at 8-under par. Georgia is in second at even par, with No. 13 Texas in third at 1 over and TCU fourth at 7 over. No. 11 Florida is the first team out right now at 8 over, with No. 23 Arizona and Sam Houston tied for sixth at 12 over.
 
"Another really good day for our team," head coach Derek Radley said. "Our ladies do a great job of playing for each other and always know the others have their back, which allows us to play with a lot of confidence. We're in a good position, but we can't get comfortable. We need to come out tomorrow with the same mindset and intensity and put together another really solid day of golf."

 
Junior Briana Chacon is the individual leader at 10-under par, three strokes up on Jenny Bae of Georgia and six strokes ahead of Marina Escobar Domingo from Florida. After firing a stellar 7-under 65 on Monday, Chacon was Oregon's top performer again Tuesday with a 3-under 69.
 
Oregon is looking for its first NCAA Regional victory in program history, while Chacon enters Wednesday with an opportunity to become the first Duck ever to claim NCAA Regional individual medalist honors.
 
How it Happened: Chacon posted a nearly flawless scorecard for the second straight round, recording four birdies and just one bogey. She made back-to-back birdies at holes 3 and 4 and then again at 14 and 15, with her lone bogey coming at No. 9.
 
Through two rounds in Albuquerque, Chacon has carded 10 birdies and an eagle with only two total bogeys. She is seeking the first individual win of her collegiate career.

 
Joining Chacon in the top five individually is Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu, who is tied for fourth at 3-under par after carding a 2-under 70 on Tuesday. The 2022 Pac-12 champion shot a bogey-free 3 under on the front nine before going 1 over on the back nine.
 
Lu shot par-or-better for the team-leading 21st time this season and 14th time in her last 15 rounds, while Chacon did so for the 13th time this season and finished in the 60s for the fourth time.
 
Ching-Tzu Chen also enjoyed a solid round with an even-par 72, making birdies on her final two holes to notch her 12th par-or-better round of 2021-22. Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen rounded out the counting scores with her second straight 1-over 73, and Tze-Han (Heather) Lin came in with a 3-over 75 for the second day in a row.

Lu and Lin each reached a significant milestone on Tuesday, surpassing 100 birdies for the season. They become the fifth and sixth Ducks ever to reach that mark in a single season, with Lu now ranking fourth with 101 birdies in 2021-22 and Lin tied for fifth with an even 100.

 
Team Leaderboard (top 4 advance):
1. #2 Oregon – 284-284 – 568 (-8)
2. Georgia – 292-284 – 576 (E)
3. #13 Texas – 287-290 – 577 (+1)
4. TCU – 292-291 – 583 (+7)
3. #11 Florida – 288-296 – 584 (+8)
T6. #23 Arizona – 293-295 – 588 (+12)
T6. Sam Houston – 302-286 – 588 (+12)
8. Louisville – 295-296 – 592 (+15)
9. Oklahoma – 299-303 – 602 (+26)
10. North Texas – 296-307 – 603 (+27)
11. New Mexico State – 302-304 – 606 (+30)
12. Northern Arizona – 309-305 – 614 (+38)
 
Ducks on the Leaderboard:
1. Briana Chacon – 65-69 – 134 (-10)
T4. Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu – 71-70 – 141 (-3)
T18. Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen – 73-73 – 146 (+2)
T21. Ching-Tzu Chen – 75-72 – 147 (+3)
T33. Tze-Han (Heather) Lin – 75-75 – 150 (+6)
 
Notable: Oregon has now shot par-or-better in 17 of 32 rounds this season, including 11 times during the spring … UO leads the field on both par-3 (E) and par-5 (-11) scoring, and the Ducks are second on par-4 (+9) scoring … Oregon's 32 total birdies are four more than any other team in the field … Chacon is 5-under par on par-4 holes, the best mark in the field, and she leads the field with 10 total birdies while Lu is tied for second with nine … Nielsen leads the Ducks with 28 total pars, tied for fourth-most.
 
Up Next: Oregon will play with Georgia and Texas in the final groups going off of No. 1 in Wednesday's final round, with Lin the first off at 8:06 a.m. PT.
 
8:06 a.m. – Tze-Han (Heather) Lin
8:17 a.m. – Ching-Tzu Chen
8:28 a.m. – Sofie Kibsgaard Nielsen
8:39 a.m. – Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu
8:50 a.m. – Briana Chacon