The Blue Devils have struggled so far this fall, but a win in the biggest fall event in the country could be just what they need to jump-start the 2016-17 season.
Led by a bounce-back performance from sophomore Virginia Elena Carta, the No. 23 Blue Devils dispatched No. 5 UCLA Tuesday before downing defending national champions Washington Wednesday in match play to win the prestigious East Lake Cup at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. The event features four of the top programs in the country each year, with 18 holes of stroke play determining seeds for match play.
Duke was the third seed for match play following Monday’s 2-over-par round of stroke play, then upset the Bruins and knocked off the Huskies—who upset top-seeded and No. 4 Stanford in the match-play semifinals—to earn its first win of the fall.
The tournament is one of the few that mimics the NCAA championship’s format of stroke-play rounds determining match-play seeding and is played at the home of the PGA’s Tour Championship.
“I’ve been saying all along that they turned this into a mini national championship with the stroke [play] one day, and the two days of match play…. We’re just delighted,” Duke head coach Dan Brooks said on Golf Channel following the round. “Their spirit is great. That is something you can’t put a finger on. You need all five to be in at all times. When all five of them are all in, it becomes really special. We had that here, and it was great.”
Carta—last season’s NCAA individual champion—had not shot an under-par round in her last nine outings, including a four-over-par 76 in stroke play this week. But the Udine, Italy, native stepped up on a big stage once again.
After downing Pac-12 Conference Freshman of the Year Lilia Vu in the first round against UCLA, Carta routed Washington’s Ellen Takada in the finals to spark the team’s 3-1-1 win.
The rest of Brooks’ team had struggled alongside Carta to finish 10th in its last event, the Tar Heel Invitational, without the world’s top-ranked amateur Leona Maguire.
With Maguire back in full force—the junior carded a two-under-par 70 to pace the Blue Devils in stroke play and earned a point in match play Wednesday—the entire team seemed to respond. She missed the last event because she is trying to qualify for the LPGA Tour.
“It was a big team effort this week,” Maguire told GoDuke.com. “That’s what has been lacking this fall. We’ve had some good individual performances, but to come together this week as a team... was big for us. We’ve talked about it all year, to show that bit of leadership and everyone take care of what they can do, we definitely did that this week.”
The Blue Devils got match-play wins from all five players in their starting lineup in their best event of the year to this point. Maguire, Carta and freshman Ana Belac picked up points in the first round to beat UCLA 3-2-0, and junior Lisa Maguire, Carta and senior Sandy Choi took victories in the second match.
Choi’s birdie on the par-3 15th hole Wednesday sealed Duke’s win.
Lisa Maguire’s turnaround as she works through a swing change encouraged her sister, Leona, especially after she shot a seven-over-par 79 in stroke play. Lisa Maguire had posted a scoring average of 76.50 heading into match play, including six rounds of 76 or higher, but gave the team one of the three points it needed to win Wednesday.
“She’s been so close for so long,” Leona Maguire said. “It’s great to see that her hard work is paying off. She works harder than anyone I know, and to get that first point was huge. We all knew she could win... Hopefully that will give her some confidence heading into the spring.”
Eventually, the Blue Devils might need Lisa Maguire to step up even more when her sister misses more events because of LPGA Tour qualifying school. Leona Maguire has made it to the final stage of the Q-School, and reiterated Wednesday that if she finishes in the top 20 and makes the cut, she will accept her LPGA card.
“Anything else, I will come back to the best program in the country,” Maguire told Golf Channel.
If Maguire does qualify for the professional ranks, Duke will need to build on its latest triumph as it builds toward May’s NCAA championship. Maguire is the only Blue Devil with a scoring average of even-par or better, and Duke would need four players to count toward its stroke-play rounds.
With their fall slate wrapped up, the Blue Devils will return to Durham focused on catching up academically and celebrating their landmark win.
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“I know we have a lot of schoolwork to catch up on, but maybe we’ll celebrate this weekend, definitely,” Choi told Golf Channel.
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Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.