Rain and golf don’t mix.

The No. 28 men’s golf team proved that water was too much of a barrier as it struggled in the rain in the second round of the Oregon Duck Invitational in Eugene, Ore., yesterday.

The Wildcats shot a 2-over-par 290 in the opening round and a significantly higher 12-over 300 in the second round, totaling a 12-over 590 for the day. The Wildcats now find themselves sitting tied for fifth place with No. 19 ASU heading into the final round today at 8 a.m.

“”We got off to what I thought was a pretty good start,”” said Arizona head coach Rick LaRose. “”Everyone made their birdies early, and I thought we were doing OK. We just kind of lost it in the middle round with the rain falling all over us.””

No. 5 USC leads the 12-team field after scoring a 1-over 577, 11 strokes ahead of the Wildcats.

Six golfers hit the links for the Wildcats, which was a change from the usual five. Arizona was led by redshirt senior Nathan Tyler, who is tied for 10th individually after posting a 2-over 146 for the day.

Senior Josh Esler and freshman Pedro Oriol both carded rounds of 4-over 149 and are tied for 23rd individually.

Oriol has come on strong of late, placing 11th individually in the E-Z-Go Invitational last week and tying for third in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Championship March 9-11.

Despite his solid play recently, Oriol said that he and the rest of the team need to improve their “”mind process.””

“”I think I am playing pretty well,”” he said. “”I think my putt game was pretty good, but we all could be playing better.””

Senior Brian Prouty, who was named No. 1 golfer in Golfweek magazine at the beginning of March, said he was struggling to find his stroke. He started off solid, shooting a 1-under 71 in the opening round, but slumped to a 7-over 79 score in the second round.

“”I just didn’t have the patience and the ability (yesterday),”” said Prouty, who has since fallen to No. 24. “”I am in a little bit of a rut. I am just not making the swings right now.””

Still, LaRose said he feels that first place is anything but out of reach.

“”It’s only a few shots and we are back up there, it’s not like we are completely out of it,”” he said. “”To be honest, we are still struggling with the basics, and we are just not taking care of the ball.””