‘We’re coming here to win;’Oregon women’s golf surges into early lead at NCAA Regionals
I’d be pretty confident in saying that 99% of the world’s golfers would dream of a round that Oregon’s Briana Chacon had on Monday at the NCAA Regional Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
A tournament-leading 7-under (65) that consisted of six birdies and an eagle — that’s what the junior turned in during the first round of the tournament, giving the No. 2-seeded Ducks an early lead after carding a 4-under 284. No. 13 Texas is currently in second place, three strokes back of Oregon.
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“Really proud of the way our team came out and set the tone today,” head coach Derek Radley said, via GoDucks.com. “We said going into this that we’re not coming here with the goal of just finishing top four, we’re coming here to win. I thought they really embraced that mindset and did a great job of both playing smart and being aggressive.”
According to the school website, the 65 shot by Chacon is a new personal best by two strokes, and set a new course record at UNM Championship Course for an NCAA Regional or NCAA Championship. It was also a tie for the third-best single round in UO individual history.
“Briana was phenomenal today,” Radley said. “She was locked in from the get-go. I’ve said all season that any one of these five can go low and be our top player in any given round, and today was Briana’s day. Really proud of her and can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.”
Oregon’s Hsin-Yu (Cynthia) Lu was the only other Duck to card an under-par round, with a 1-under 71.
The Ducks will tee off in the second round on Tuesday at 8:06 a.m. PT.
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