EUGENE, Ore. – The Pacific men's golf team (302-288-590) improved its second-round score in the Duck Invitational at the Eugene Country Club by 14 strokes, moving from 12th in the 14-team field after round one to 10th entering the final round on Tuesday. The Tigers tallied 18-over-par 302 in the morning round then came back with a four-over-par 288 to move up the leader board in the afternoon.
"We were very proud of these guys hanging in there all day in the cool, damp, misty, rainy weather," said Head Coach John Cook. "This afternoon, it was a solid team effort. We stayed away from any double bogies or big numbers! Excited to get back out on the course in the morning."
Junior Griffin Long keyed the second-round comeback with a one-under-par 70 after shooting a 77 in the morning round. It was Long's third under-par round of the season and his first of the spring season. His 36-hole score of 147 is tied for 33rd in the 91-player field.
Junior Leonardo Rigamonti is also in the group tied at 147 (74-73). Teammates Maverick Pavletich (76-72–148) and Riley Killip (75-73–148) are one stroke behind the team leaders, tied for 39th. Sophomore Haakon Mathiesen shot a 36-hole total of 155 (80-75).
All five Tigers improved their score in the second round. The top four golfers had seven birdies in the first round but were slowed by six double bogies. In the second round, the four eliminated the double bogies and had nine birdies.
The 288 second-round score was sixth-best in the 14-team field that includes three nationally-ranked opponents, including #3 Arizona State. Second-round leader #8 Washington (-16) and Utah (-11) are the only two teams under par after two rounds. The Sun Devils are third at +10. In the second round, the Tigers passed Seattle and Idaho and are just two strokes behind host #36 Oregon and one behind Grand Canyon.
The team returns to action with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start on Tuesday. It's expected to be 50 degrees and sunny tomorrow at the event start, a significant improvement from Monday's rain and 43 degrees at the beginning of the event.
Fans can follow scoring for the event on www.golfstat.com.
