Despite rainy and windy conditions, which momentarily suspended play on Monday, Oregon men’s golf redshirt junior Sulman Raza took home first place at the Northwest Classic in Canby, Oregon on Tuesday.
Raza, who finished a combined 10-under for the tournament, held at the Willamette Valley Country Club, finished par or better throughout the first and second round. His win came after a third place finish in the Southern Highlands Collegiate in Las Vegas earlier this month. It was the first win of Raza’s collegiate career.
“It was awesome for Sulman,” head coach Casey Martin said to GoDucks.com. “He had a breakthrough last week in Vegas, and then this was another breakthrough, so that’s very encouraging to see him play at that level because he has played beautifully. To play those final two rounds without a bogey was phenomenal because the conditions were quite difficult.”
The Ducks finished second overall (-14), trailing only UNLV (-22) at the conclusion of the tournament.
Playing as an individual, junior Nigel Lett finished second overall with a six-under scorecard. His third round score of four-under 68 was the lowest round of his collegiate career thus far. Because Lett was not a part of Oregon’s playing lineup, his score didn’t affect the team’s score in the tournament.
Not to be outdone, sophomore Aaron Wise placed third in the tournament with a combined five-under. Wise led the field after the first round with a five-under scorecard.
Senior Zach Foushee finished one-under and tied for 11th. Edwin Yi, who continues to see plenty of action in his freshman campaign, finished in a tie for 22nd (+3). Finally, senior Brandon McIver struggled throughout the tournament, particularly the third round when he shot seven-over. McIver finished tied for 56th (+11).
“We just need to get everybody on the same page, because whenever someone’s playing really well, someone’s struggling,” Martin said. “Hopefully, we can push through and finish this year with everyone finding their own zone.”
The Ducks now travel to Stanford, California for The Goodwin, which begins on Thursday. The field includes Pac-12 teams Arizona, Colorado, Stanford, UCLA and USC, as well as UNLV.
Follow Will Denner on Twitter @Will_Denner