NCAA Columbus Regional Recap: Oregon Men’s Golf Sees Season End in Ninth Place
The Ducks made a second-round push, but a slow start in the weather-delayed final round left Oregon outside the NCAA Championship cut line.
Oregon men’s golf entered the NCAA Columbus Regional needing a top-five finish to extend its season and return to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2023.
The Ducks gave themselves a chance after a steadier second round, but a rough finish Monday and a difficult start Wednesday proved too much to overcome. Oregon finished ninth in the 13-team field at the Columbus Regional, ending its 2025-26 season.
Florida, the No. 2 national seed, controlled the regional from start to finish and won by 24 strokes. Stanford, Memphis, Arizona State and Florida State rounded out the five teams that advanced to the NCAA Championships in Carlsbad, California.
Round One: A promising start slips away late
Oregon opened Monday on the back nine and appeared to settle in quickly. The Ducks played their first seven holes at just 1-over as a team, with sophomore Ramil Saelim at 1-under and senior Aiden Krafft at even par during that stretch.
Then the front nine got hold of them.
Firm conditions and wind made scoring tougher as the round progressed, and Oregon added nine strokes over its final five holes. The ninth hole was especially damaging, with four of the five Ducks recording bogeys.
Oregon finished the opening round at 16-over 300, landing in a three-way tie for 11th place. That left the Ducks seven shots outside the top five with 36 holes to play.
Krafft led Oregon with a 3-over round, while Saelim and Tim Chang each finished at 4-over. Casper Nerpin rounded out the counting scores with a 5-over 76.
Round Two: Ducks steady themselves and climb the board
Tuesday brought more wind, but Oregon handled the scoring conditions better than it had in the opening round.
The Ducks shot 10-over 294 and climbed three spots into eighth place. Aiden Krafft, Ramil Saelim and Casper Nerpin each posted 2-over 73s, giving Oregon the balance it needed to remain in the hunt entering the final round.
The biggest improvement came in the closing stretch. After Monday’s late fade, Oregon was much steadier over the final five holes Tuesday. Krafft, Saelim and Nerpin combined for just one bogey in that stretch, and the Ducks moved within six shots of the top-five cut line.
That was the good news. The bad news was that Florida had already separated from the field, while Stanford, Arizona State, Memphis and Long Beach State occupied the remaining advancement positions. Oregon still had work to do, but the Ducks had at least given themselves a path.
Round Three: Weather delay, rough start end Oregon’s run
Wednesday’s final round was defined by weather before it really began.
Rain delayed play by 4 1/2 hours, forcing a shotgun start and leaving the course in difficult shape. No team finished the final round under par, and only four players in the 75-player field shot 1-under.
Oregon entered the day six shots outside the cut line, and the shifting conditions opened the door for movement. The projected cut line moved from 20-over to 31-over by the end of the round, giving several teams a chance to scramble into the top five.
But Oregon’s final-round push never fully materialized. The Ducks combined to play their opening four holes at 9-over, losing the ground they had gained on Tuesday almost immediately.
Krafft opened with two bogeys and a double bogey across his first seven holes before settling in and playing his final 10 holes bogey-free. He finished tied for 23rd, closing out a spring in which he placed inside the top 30 in every event.
Saelim delivered Oregon’s best individual finish. He birdied each of his final three holes to close at 6-over for the tournament, just outside the top 10. Nerpin also moved up the leaderboard in the final round and tied for 27th, his best finish in his last four starts.
Chang completed Oregon’s final-round scoring with an 8-over performance.
A season ends short of Carlsbad
Oregon’s regional performance had its moments. The Ducks responded well after Monday’s late struggles, and Saelim, Krafft and Nerpin all had stretches of strong play in difficult conditions.
But in a regional where the margin for error was small behind runaway winner Florida, Oregon could not absorb the damage from Monday’s closing holes and Wednesday’s opening stretch.
The Ducks finish ninth in Columbus, ending a season that included a strong late push but not the NCAA Championship berth they were chasing.
Duck Scorecard
NCAA Columbus Regional
OSU Golf Club – Par 71 (7,422 yards)
9. Oregon – 300-294-298 (+41)
T11. Ramil Saelim – 75-73-71 – 219 (+6)
T23. Aiden Krafft – 74-73-75 – 222 (+9)
T27. Casper Nerpin – 76-73-74 – 223 (+10)
T41. Tim Chang – 75-75-79 – 229 (+16)
T71. Sebastian Desoisa – 79-80-79 – 238 (+25)
Regional Scoreboard
1. Florida (E)
2. Stanford (+24)
3. Memphis (+25)
4. Arizona State (+30)
5. Florida State (+31)
— Top 5 Championship Cut —
6. Utah (+37)
7. Long Beach State (+38)
8. Cal (+39)
9. Oregon (+41)
T10. Illinois State (+43)
T10. USF (+43)
12. South Carolina (+48)
13. Wright State (+58)