THERE'S no doubt now that North Vancouver golfer Eugene Wong is back in form and on track for another crack at the Jack Nicklaus Award as the top golfer in the NCAA.
Two weeks ago Wong served notice that - after a relatively quiet season as a junior at Oregon - he was rounding back into form in his senior year with a second place finish at the Prestige at PGA West tournament in La Quinta, Calif.
Last week Wong topped that performance, putting it all together to finish first at the University of California's Alister MacKenzie Invitational tournament, breaking the tournament record in the process. It was Wong's third career NCAA tournament victory but his first since his sophomore season when he won two tournaments and claimed the prestigious Nicklaus Award.
At the Alister MacKenzie, played at the Meadow Club in Fairfax, Calif., Wong led wire-to-wire while shooting in the 60s for all three of his rounds. After opening with a 65 on the 6,718-yard par 71 course, Wong shot a scorching eight-under 63 in the second round and finished the tournament with a 67 to end up at 18under-par 195, breaking the tournament record by two strokes. The 195 total was Wong's career low for a three-round event.
The Handsworth grad finished five strokes ahead of runner-up Max Homa of California and six stokes ahead of teammate Rak Cho, who tied for third. Wong and Cho helped lead the Ducks to a tie for the tournament's team title. Both Oregon and California finished at 41under for the tournament, eight strokes ahead of third-place San Diego State.
Wong is currently tied for 18th in individual play in NCAA Div. 1 golf with an average score of 70.17. Oregon's final tournament of the fall season is UCLA's event at Corde Valle in San Martin, Calif., Oct. 31-Nov. 2.
aprest@nsnews.com
