The Oregon men's golf team headed into the Big Ten Championships with hopes of extending their impressive postseason streak, but the Ducks couldn't find the spark they needed at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Portland. After three rounds of play, Oregon finished tied for 12th in the 18-team field at 22-over par, posting scores of 290, 286, and 286. While the Ducks showed resilience after a rocky start, the leaderboard slipped away on Saturday as UCLA seized control and ultimately claimed the conference title at 8-under par.
Senior Aiden Krafft was the standout for Oregon, delivering a final-round 1-under 69 on Sunday to tie for 23rd individually. That strong finish extended Krafft's impressive streak of top-30 finishes to seven tournaments, including all six events this spring—a testament to his consistency under pressure.
Round One: A Rocky Start, But a Strong Recovery
The tournament got off to a challenging start for Oregon, with the Ducks posting a 10-over 290 in Friday's opening round, leaving them in ninth place. The course at Pumpkin Ridge proved tougher than anticipated after holes 4 and 14 were converted from par 5s to par 4s just before play began, catching many players off guard. Oregon struggled to find their rhythm early, turning at 10-over after losing nine strokes on holes 4 through 7 alone—hole 7 was particularly punishing, with all four counting scorers making bogey.
But the Ducks showed their mettle on the back nine, playing those final holes at even par and nearly doubling their birdie total from the front. That late surge kept them within striking distance of the middle of the pack, though they still trailed first-round leader Illinois, which opened at 1-under.
Casper Nerpin and Sebastian Desoisa led Oregon on Friday with matching 2-over 72s, tying for 26th. Desoisa's round was a tale of two nines: after a 3-over front, he bounced back with three birdies on the back to play that side at 1-under. Jeffrey Kwak and Aiden Krafft each shot 3-over 73, with both finding their stride on the back nine to keep the Ducks in contention.