Women’s Golf Finishes Ninth at Big Ten Championships

Sophomore Tong An led Oregon with a 1-over 71. She was 1 under at the turn and 2 under through 11 holes before three late bogeys pushed her over par. Darae Chung followed with a 2-over 72, Sophie Han shot 3-over, and Karen Tsuru rounded out the counting scores at 4-over.

Han opened with 13 straight pars and added a birdie on No. 14, but a triple bogey on No. 15 derailed her round. Tsuru, making just her second appearance of the season while returning from injury, was 1 over after a birdie on No. 11 before bogeying three of her next four holes.

An Holds Steady in Round Two

Saturday belonged to An, who put together Oregon’s cleanest round of the tournament. She shot even-par 70 with 16 pars, one birdie and one bogey. After making her lone bogey on No. 6, An immediately answered with a birdie on No. 7 and closed the round with 11 consecutive pars.

That moved her into a tie for ninth individually at 1 over, six shots behind USC’s Bailey Shoemaker entering the final round.

As a team, Oregon shot 11-over 291 and remained seventh at 21-over par.

Annika Ishiyama had the Ducks’ next-best round Saturday with a 2-over 72. Her card was more volatile than An’s, with a team-high five birdies offset by five bogeys and a double bogey. Tsuru shot 4-over 74, while Chung rounded out the counting scores with a 5-over 75. Chung also delivered Oregon’s highlight of the round with an eagle on the par-4 seventh hole.

Sunday Slide Drops Oregon to Ninth

The Ducks needed a strong final round to climb the leaderboard, but birdies were hard to come by Sunday. Oregon’s five-player lineup combined for only six birdies, and the four counting scores played the front nine at 8 over and the back nine at 9 over.

Oregon closed with a 17-over 297, its highest round of the tournament.

An remained Oregon’s top individual finisher, tying for 20th at 8 over for the week. But a rough start on Sunday, including a 5-over opening stretch through the first four holes, led to a final-round 77.

Chung and Han each shot 3-over 73 in the final round, while Ishiyama added a 4-over 74.

The result was not the finish Oregon wanted at the conference championship, especially after winning the Big Ten title last season. Still, the Ducks’ national profile remains strong, and their season will continue.

Oregon will learn its NCAA Regional destination during the selection show on Golf Channel at 1 p.m. PT on Wednesday, April 29.

Ducks on the Leaderboard:
9. Oregon — 290-291-297 — 878 (+38)
T-20. Tong An — 71-70-77 — 218 (+8)
T-25. Darae Chung — 72-75-73 — 220 (+10)
T-36. Annika Ishiyama — 76-72-74 — 222 (+12)
T-42. Sophie Han — 73-78-73 — 224 (+14)
T-50. Karen Tsuru — 74-74-77 — 225 (+15)