The Oregon men’s golf team is in a three-way tie for fourth place after the opening round of the 36th annual Duck Invitational at Eugene Country Club, according to a March 23 update from the team. Senior Aiden Krafft led the Ducks with a season-low round of 5-under 66 and sits second on the individual leaderboard, just one stroke behind Max Herenden of Illinois.
This tournament is significant as Oregon aims to secure its second consecutive title on its home course. The Ducks trail No. 9 ranked Illinois by ten strokes, with Illinois leading as the only team under par at a combined score of 1-under 567.
Krafft was one of two Oregon players to finish under par in the first round and played without any bogeys. He recorded four birdies in his opening round and maintained an even score in his second round, finishing at five under overall. “Krafft and played the first round without a blemish on his scorecard,” according to information provided by Oregon athletics.
Other notable performances included Casper Nerpin, who finished one over for his second round and currently holds fourteenth place after carding three birdies across both rounds. Ramil Saelim, last year’s third-place finisher at this event, ended two over for his first round and three over in his second. Freshmen Sebastian Desoisa and Oscar Lent each finished ten over par for their debut appearances.
Among those competing individually, Jeffrey Kwak posted an impressive top-10 standing after two rounds with an opening score of two-under-par (69) and seven total birdies between both rounds. Kyreece Romero improved during play with seven birdies in his second-round performance.
Oregon led all teams with 112 total pars through two rounds while tallying twenty-eight birdies—the fifth most among participating teams. Krafft also shared third-best averages on par-three holes (2.88) alongside teammate Kyreece Romero’s matching average on par-five holes (4.33). The Ducks are set to begin their final day with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
