Beavers Look To Defend Title In Eugene
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State men’s golf team looks to defend its title at the Duck Invitational, after dominating the event last year, in a tournament that will be held Monday and Tuesday in Eugene.
FIELD (15): Oregon State, Arizona State, Fresno State, Gonzaga, Kansas State, Loyola Marymount, Nevada, Oregon, Pacific, San Diego, San Diego State, San Jose State, UC Riverside, Utah and Washington.
COURSE: The tournament will be held at the par-72, 7,020-yard Eugene Country Club.
BEAVERS’ LINEUP: Oregon State will go with a lineup of senior Alex Franklin, juniors Brian Jung and Chris Tedesco and sophomores Conner Kumpula and Kevin Murphy. Senior Scott Kim will compete as an individual.
FORMAT: Two-day, 54-hole tournament with 36 holes and Monday and 18 holes on Tuesday. The top-four individuals from each five-member team with the lowest scores for each 18-hole round constitute the scoring members for that given round.
TEE TIMES: There will be a shotgun start beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Monday and Tuesday. The Beavers will be paired with Gonzaga, Nevada and San Diego on the first day.
LIVE SCORING: Live scoring is available at golfstat.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow the Oregon State men’s golf team on Twitter and Facebook.
LAST YEAR AT THE DUCK INVITATIONAL: Oregon State crushed the 16-team Duck Invitational last year, including an11-stroke margin over third-place Oregon, to win the 25th Annual tournament behind an outstanding effort by all five Beaver players at the Ducks’ host event.
The Beavers concluded the two-day, 54-hole tournament with a 9-over 292-290-291--873 at the par-72, 7,165-yard Emerald Valley Golf Course to finish nine strokes better than second-place Minnesota (18-over 882) and 11 better than Oregon (20-over 884).
It was the 37th team title in Oregon State history and the fourth under Jon Reehoorn in his fourth season as the Beavers’ head coach.
The conditions were much tougher on the second day than the opening day’s nearly perfect weather, as rain and wind caused the majority of the scores to go up. It didn’t affect the Beavers, however, as they posted the best score on the final day to lead the tournament from start to finish.
Kevin Murphy posted the best finish of his young career, a tie for third place, with an even-par 72-73-71--216. He was one of only six players to shoot in red figures on the final day after carding an impressive 1-under 71 that featured four birdies and three bogeys.
Brian Jung was solid both days for the Beavers as he finished in a tie for 10th place with a 3-over 74-71-74--219. He got to 1 under through 12 holes but the weather conditions caused him to bogey three of his final five holes for a 2-over final round.
David Fink, who struggled in the first two rounds, bounced back on the final day with a 1-under 71 that included three birdies and a double bogey. The clutch round by the All-Pac-12 golfer moved him from a tie for 40th place through 36 holes into a tie for 15th with a 5-over 74-76-71--221.
Alex Franklin was key to the Beavers’ first day success when he fired a pair of 72’s that put him in sole fifth place. He was unable to find the same magic on Tuesday as he shot a 7-over 79 to finish in a tie for 22nd with a 7-over 223.
Scott Kim finished in a tie for 32nd with a 9-over 76-74-75--225 and Brett Johnson, who competed as an individual, shot a 7-over 73-75-75--223 for a tie for 22nd.
Jose Mendez of Minnesota and Jeremy Paul of Colorado shared the individual title with a 3-under 213.
TOURNAMENT HISTORY: Oregon State has had success at the Duck Invitational, even more than winning last year’s team title. The Beavers won the team title and Anthony Arvidson claimed medalist honors in 1998, and Alex Moore shot the lowest round in school history, a 9-under 63, in 2011. Oregon State head coach Jon Reehoorn won the individual title in 2002 when he was a senior at Washington State.
LAST TIME OUT: Kevin Murphy fired a 1-under 71 in the final round of the San Diego Classic two weeks ago to move eight spots up the leaderboard and finish in a tie for 10th place.
Murphy started on the 10th hole at the par-72, 7,033-yard San Diego Country Club and was 1 over through four before reeling off birdies on the 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th holes to shoot a 3-under 33 going out. He had one birdie and three bogeys coming in to finish the day in red figures and conclude the two-day, 54-hole tournament with an even-par 73-72-71--216.
It’s the third top-10 finish of Murphy’s career after posting two during his freshman campaign. His best career finish is a tie for third place at last year’s Duck Invitational in Eugene.
As a team, the Beavers had their best round of the tournament on the final day, shooting a 6-over 294, to finish in ninth place in the 14-team field with a 28-over 300-298-294--892.
Washington won the team title with a 10-under 854 and a pair of Huskies, Cheng-Tsung Pan and Corey Pereira, shared medalist honors with an 8-under 208.
Alex Franklin also played well in the final round, shooting a 1-over 73, to move nine spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 33rd place with a 7-over 75-75-73--223.
Brian Jung finished in a tie for 44th with a 9-over 74-75-76--225, Scott Kim shot a 12-over 78-76-74--228 for sole 51st and Conner Kumpula concluded play in a tie for 72nd with a 19-over 78-80-77-235.
